The Pirate Queen, Susan Ronald
The Pirate Queen, Susan Ronald
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The Pirate Queen
Queen Elizabeth I, Her Pirate Adventurers, and the Dawn of Empire

Author: Susan Ronald

Narrator: Josephine Bailey

Unabridged: 13 hr 42 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 09/24/2007

Synopsis

Dubbed the "pirate queen" by the Vatican and Spain's Philip II, Elizabeth I was feared and admired by her enemies. Extravagant, whimsical, and hot-tempered, Elizabeth was the epitome of power. Her visionary accomplishments were made possible by her daring merchants, gifted rapscallion adventurers, astronomer philosophers, and her stalwart Privy Council, including Sir William Cecil, Sir Francis Walsingham, and Sir Nicholas Bacon. All these men contributed their vast genius, power, greed, and expertise to the advancement of England.

In The Pirate Queen, historian Susan Ronald offers a fresh look at Elizabeth I, focusing on her uncanny instinct for financial survival and the superior intellect that propelled and sustained her rise. The foundation of Elizabeth's empire was built on a carefully choreographed strategy whereby piracy transformed England from an impoverished state on the fringes of Europe into the first building block of an empire that covered two-fifths of the world.

Based on a wealth of historical sources and thousands of personal letters between Elizabeth and her merchant adventurers, advisers, and royal "cousins," The Pirate Queen tells the thrilling story of Elizabeth and the swashbuckling mariners who terrorized the seas, planted the seedlings of an empire, and amassed great wealth for themselves and the Crown.

About Susan Ronald

Born and raised in the United States, Susan Ronald is a British-American biographer and historian. The author of several books, including A Dangerous Woman, Hitler's Art Thief, and Heretic Queen, she lives in rural England with her writer husband.

Reviews

Goodreads review by jillian on February 03, 2008

This is an amazing book, researched in great detail, describing the reign of Elizabeth I through her foreign policy, especially when it came to her privateers. Elizabeth needed money to defend a vulnerable England against Catholic Spain, while aiding and abetting the Protestants in Spanish-owned Low......more

Goodreads review by Sage on April 10, 2019

An excellent answer to my question from my last book (A Kingdom Strange): what the hell was wrong with Walter Raleigh? Turns out Horn's book didn't take into account the finances of the British crown in critiquing the failure of Raleigh to resupply his Roanoke colony. Ronald if anything goes into to......more

Goodreads review by Nerine on January 22, 2013

I've needed a book detailing the kind of socio-political-economic environment that would support piracy, and The Pirate Queen gave me exactly the kind of background I needed for my research. As background reading to inform my own writing, this volume provides a rough history of Elizabethan times wri......more

Goodreads review by Jen on October 30, 2012

I have to admit that I am sooooo glad this book is done. Omigod glad. I might be skipping. I should have loved this book. I should have whisked it away on a long holiday with me and a pony ride, and bought it drinks. But it was fine. It was like going out on a date with the perfect guy, and finding ou......more

Goodreads review by Annie on March 01, 2009

This book assumed too much prior knowledge on the subject of economics. For instance, in one chapter, Elizabeth stabilized the runaway inflation by recalling the old currency and minting new coins. As I read it, I kept nodding, saying to myself, "Oh, so that's how you do it." I don't know enough abo......more

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