Who ever said that unexplained rumors weren't fascinating? This novel delves into the "what if" of Arthur Dudley, the man who claimed to be the son of Elizabeth and Robin Dudley. His claims were never validated, but the rumor still circulates to this day as to whether he spoke the truth. The Queen's Bastard uses what little information was known about Arthur Dudley, and the known events of Elizabeth's life to piece together what might have happened.
Like any good story, Maxwell begins at the beginning. She starts with Arthur explaining the purpose of the memoir he is writing, and why he believes his words to be important. This also helps to explain who he is in terms of his relationship to the royal family and England. Then the story jumps to the history of Elizabeth's and Robin Dudley's decades-long affair, that everyone at court seemed to know about. While the private-life events are fictional, they do make Elizabeth a much more interesting monarch. She is always described as stubborn and determined, but Maxwell wants to show that this applied to how she lived her personal life as well as her public life.
As the novel continues, Arthur grows up. Maxwell shows his whole life, from birth to age 25, which is when all record of him disappears, although she does speculate what happened to him after that through his trip to the Americas. He grows up in a completely different world than the one his parents live in. Arthur is adopted as a younger son to a family that owns a dairy, and later, take care of a chase park (where hunting parties can hire horses to chase down deer and other animals). He has a remarkable amount of fortitude, even from a young age. He bears things that a child would not usually put up with. Despite his royal birth, he is subject to the pain, poverty, and difficulties of the life of a commoner: nothing in his life is certain, and he must take the best out of every situation.
Arthur is an amazing character, although a little unbelievable. His is a life meant to be fantastical because of the secrets surrounding his past, but some of the situations Maxwell puts him in are too much to swallow. One example is that he is made a spy, and though he has no training, no experience, no way to know what he is doing, Arthur is a genius. He has been able to acquire information no one else could. Also, he decides to become a soldier and ends up in the company of William of Orange. Not only does he meet William, he becomes recognized by him, and even becomes commonly known to William's family. This is highly unlikely for a young man from a chase, with only knowledge of horses to recommend him, to accomplish. Yet, it happens in this novel, and I take these plot points as just part of the larger story. They are important, but I was more interested in how Maxwell would portray his meeting with Elizabeth and Dudley.
In the meantime, between snippets from Arthur's memoirs, Maxwell puts the reader in the court, but with an intimate view of the happenings of Elizabeth's private life. I got to see the behind the scenes arguments, the passion, the anger, the intrigues, the inner workings of Elizabeth's mind and why she ruled as she did. Maxwell gives this perspective for almost 30 years of Elizabeth's life, from when she assumed the throne, to after she meets Arthur. It is a tragic life because of all of the obstacles she needed to overcome, both as Queen, and as a person. She dealt with foreign powers, betrayals from those she trusted, and the deaths of those she loved.
Through it all, Maxwell keeps up a steady stream of interesting scenes that kept me turning the pages as if my life depended on it. I even loved that in Arthur's memoirs, Maxwell added in the occasional misspelling, strange punctuation, or odd word choice that might have happened during the time period. I had never heard this rumor about Elizabeth having a secret child, who later came back into the picture, but I was enchanted by Maxwell's imaginative story about what might have happened. Like all good historical mysteries, there will never be a way to prove or disprove this scandal, but it's a little bit more fun to have stories like The Queen's Bastard to imagine "what if."
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