Queen Elizabeth I of England is one of the most fascinating women of history. Taking the throne in her own right was unusual for the time -- the only previous woman Queens in England other than Queen Consorts were her older sister, Mary I, the Nine Day Queen Lady Jane Grey, and the Empress Matilda whose attempt to be crowned Queen resulted in decades of civil war. During Mary's reign, there had been signficant conflict over religion. Jane Grey's brief reign ended with her imprisonment and later execution. Elizabeth I was able to do what her predecessors had not been able to do.
Elizabeth (1998)
Shekhar Kapur's marvelous period epic about Queen Elizabeth's younger years -- just before until a few years after her coronation -- stars Cate Blanchett, whose marvelous performance more than makes up for a few historical inaccuracies or wild conclusions. This is probably the most enjoyable version of Elizabeth's life to make it to the screen, but don't take everything in it as the best conclusions of historians about certain controversial topics in Elizabeth's history. In other words: there's a lot of poetic license taken with the facts.
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)
Cate Blanchett, almost ten years after making her first biopic about the Virgin Queen, is back in the role. Again, many historical inaccuracies -- in the name of making a more succinct and still dramatic film, I imagine -- but enjoyable anyway. Shekhar Kapur again directs. The DVD has some added features about the history of Elizabeth's time and about castles and towers of the period.Elizabeth and Mary : Cousins, Rivals, Queens
Jane Dunn. This is the most recent book about Elizabeth that I've read. I found it a fascinating story of the relationship between these two powerful women -- cousins -- who were despite their relationship and positions quite different personalities and in quite different situations -- and that made all the difference. The position of a powerful woman was particularly insecure; how these two women dealt with their conflicting interests to try to retain and expand their power is fascinating.Life of Elizabeth I
Alison Weir's biography of Elizabeth I is written with the style of a good historical novel, bringing to life the personalities and bringing to light likely secrets of Elizabeth's reign. If you're not familiar with Elizabeth's life, this book's a good one to start with.Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne
David Starkey's saga of Queen Elizabeth I stresses the machinations and lucky and unlucky turns of events which brought England's Virgin Queen to the throne. Even knowing how the story turns out, I found that the author did a good job of creating a sense of uncertainty and tension -- in essence, reproducing the impossible-seeming journey of Elizabeth.The First Elizabeth
Reading more as a story than a definitive historical treatment, this biography by Carolly Erickson is a good overall treatment of Elizabeth's life and career.The Virgin Queen: Elizabeth I, Genius of the Golden Age
Christopher Hibbert's biography is a popular treatment of the life of Elizabeth. It's readable and detailed -- not always an easy combination -- and I'd recommend this as a first or more detailed biography.