Although this is historical fiction, it's a believable account of Queen Elizabeth I's approach to marriage and the way in which she used potential suitors from abroad to help England politically. I also think Alison Weir gets better with each new fiction book - she started with non-fiction books about the Tudors and she knows their history well. Elizabeth definitely had issues about marriage, possibly stemming from her mother's execution, and the way in which her father, King Henry VIII, treated women in his life. Weir takes that history, along with other incidents from Elizabeth's turbulent past, to show why marriage and motherhood didn't appeal to the queen. But the book also delves into Elizabeth's relationship with one true love, Robert Dudley. Whatever happened between them behind close doors, she never married him. A very entertaining book that also felt authentic.