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

"A highly colorful, swashbuckling read, one that will give you new respect for Britain's first Elizabeth." -Seattle Times

An illuminating revisionist biography about Queen Elizabeth I and her merchant-adventurers who terrorized the seas, extended the Empire, and amassed great wealth for the throne.

Extravagant, whimsical, and hot-tempered, Elizabeth was the epitome of power, both feared and admired by her enemies. Dubbed the "pirate queen" by the Vatican and Spain's Philip II, she employed a network of daring merchants, brazen adventurers, astronomer philosophers, and her stalwart Privy Council to anchor her throne-and in doing so, planted the seedlings of an empire that would ultimately cover two-fifths of the world.

In The Pirate Queen, historian Susan Ronald offers a fresh look at Elizabeth I, relying on a wealth of historical sources and thousands of the queen's personal letters to tell the thrilling story of a visionary monarch and the swashbuckling mariners who terrorized the seas to amass great wealth for themselves and the Crown.

This gripping narrative history reveals the cunning statecraft behind the legend:

• A Cunning Businesswoman: Discover how Elizabeth, a brilliant and often ruthless strategist, used her network of adventurers and merchants to secure her throne and fill her coffers.
• State-Sponsored Piracy: A detailed account of the swashbuckling mariners who, with the queen's blessing, terrorized the seas and challenged the might of Spain's Philip II.
• The Dawn of Empire: Explore how Elizabeth's policies, born of a desperate need for security, inadvertently planted the seedlings of a vast British Empire.
• Tudor Statecraft: Go beyond the myth with this fresh look at Elizabeth I, meticulously constructed from thousands of the queen's personal letters and forgotten historical documents.