Elizabeth I of England Through Valois Eyes ― Power, Representation, and Diplomacy in the Reign of the Queen, 1558-1588

This book examines the first thirty years of Elizabeth I’s reign from the perspective of the Valois kings, Charles IX and Henri III of France. Estelle Paranque sifts through hundreds of French letters and ambassadorial reports to construct a fuller picture of early modern Anglo-French relations, highlighting key events such as the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, the imprisonment and execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the victory of England over the Spanish Armada in 1588. By drawing on a wealth of French sources, she illuminates the French royal family’s shifting perceptions of Elizabeth I and suggests new conclusions about her reign.

Estelle Paranque is Lecturer in Early Modern History at the New College of the Humanities and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Warwick’s Center for the Study of the Renaissance, UK. She has published several essays on Elizabeth I of England and Henri III of France and has co-edited two volumes of essays on medieval and early modern European queens.