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If Queen Elizabeth II's recent passing tells us anything, it’s that our continuing fascination with the mystique of British royalty isn’t going away anytime soon, particularly when it comes to the subject of titled women and female rulers.
Even now, our preoccupation with the first Elizabeth , a queen who died over four-hundred years ago, shows no signs of abating.
What is it about this particular queen that continues to capture our imagination?
Why does her mystique remain so strong? Was it her unique abilities as a ruler, her legendary Beauty and charisma, the enormous success of her reign, her position of absolute power in an age of men, or the undeniable power of her persona?
Who was the woman behind the crown? What drove her? What did she really care about and what were the factors and circumstances that shaped her philosophy, her personality and her times? What did she really care about and how did her rule impact women’s perceptions of themselves and their abilities or help to usher in a new, more modern era?
In this episode guided by This is Beauty guest, historian, author and scholar Dr. Carole Levin, we examine the life and times of Queen Elizabeth and the relative importance of both female honor and Beauty in a time dominated by men and misogyny.
Fascinating moments in this episode include:
- The role of Beauty in an age of men
- Elizabeth I: her childhood, reign, and character,
- Queen Elizabeth’s extraordinary gifts, persona, private life and passions
- The role of women in middle England, the use of makeup
- Women and Honor
- How Elizabeth’s reign and person influenced women AND the work of Shakespeare
- Elizabeth’s artifacts; hair, makeup, clothing, jewelry and more
- The first modern toilet in England
- Shakespeare’s real identity
This episode’s beautiful experience!
Descriptions of Elizabeth’s artifacts; hair, clothing, jewelry, makeup, mirrors and more…
About our Guest, Carole Levin
Carole Levin is Willa Cather Emerita Professor of History at the University of Nebraska. She specializes in early modern English women's and cultural history. Her books include Shakespeare's Foreign Worlds: National and Transnational Identities in the Elizabethan Age, co-authored with John Watkins (Cornell, 2009); Dreaming the English Renaissance: Politics and Desire in Court and Culture (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008); The Reign of Elizabeth I (Palgrave Macmillan, 2002); and The Heart and Stomach of a King: Elizabeth I and the Politics of Sex and Power (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1994). She is the former president of the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women, the co-founder and president of the Queen Elizabeth I Society, and is Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
To learn more about Carole, her books, and her work visit: QueensandDreams.com, or the author’s bio page at www.thisisbeautypodcast.com
For more This is Beauty Podcast and other Episodes:
This is Beauty Podcast, or our website at https://www.thisisbeautypodcast.com
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Carole Levin, Ph.D.
Professor
Carole Levin is Willa Cather Professor of History and Director of the Medieval and Renaissance Studies Program at the University of Nebraska where she specializes in early modern English women's and cultural history. She received her Ph.D. from Tufts University.
Her books include, Shakespeare's Foreign Worlds: National and Transnational Identities in the Elizabethan Age, co-authored with John Watkins (Cornell University Press, 2009); Dreaming the English Renaissance: Politics and Desire in Court and Culture (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008); The Reign of Elizabeth I (Palgrave Macmillan, 2002); and The Heart and Stomach of a King: Elizabeth I and the Politics of Sex and Power (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1994), which was named one of the top ten academic books of the 1990s by the readers of Lingua Franca, September, 2000. She has worked on two major exhibits, "Elizabeth I: Ruler and Legend" at the Newberry Library in Chicago and "To Sleep Perchance to Dream" at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC.
She has been the recipient of two National Endowment for the Humanities long-term fellowships. She is the past president of the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women, the co-founder and president of the Queen Elizabeth I Society, and is Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
-Fulbright Scholar, University of York, January – June 2015.
-2008 Recipient of the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women prize for best collaborative book published in 20007 for Encyclopedia of Women in the Renaissance: Italy, France, England co-edited with Diana Robin and Anne Larsen (ABC – Clio, 2007).
-2008 Recipient of the Sixteenth Century Studies Society for the Roland Bainton prize for best reference work published in 2007 for Encyclopedia of Women in the Renaissance: Italy, France, England co-edited with Diana Robin and Anne Larsen (ABC – Clio, 2007).
-Elizabeth Kirkpatrick Doenges Fellow, Mary Baldwin College, November 2007.
-Newhouse Humanities Center Fellowship, Wellesley College, 2006-2007, declined.
-National Endowment for the Humanities Long Term Fellowship, Folger Shakespeare Library, 2006-07.
-Katharine Kyes Leab & Daniel J. Leab Exhibition Award Winner for Electronic Exhibit, Rare Books and Manuscripts Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries, 2005.
-Folger Shakespeare Library Short Term Fellowship, 2004.
-National Endowment for the Humanities Long Term Fellowship, Newberry Library, 2003.
-Named Willa Cather Professor, University of Nebraska, 2002.
-College Distinguished Teaching Award, University of Nebraska, 2002.
-Elected Fellow, Royal Historical Society, 1999.
-National Endowment for the Humanities Grant to attend Folger Institute Seminar, "Literary Questions," November, 1995.
-National Endowment for the Humanities Grant to attend Folger Institute Conference, "Material London, ca. 1600," 1995.
-Warren W. Wooden Citation for academic excellence, Patristic, Medieval, and Renaissance Conference, Villanova University, 1994.
-National Endowment for the Humanities Long Term Fellowship, Folger Shakespeare Library, 1991-92.
-SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching, 1990.
-The Monticello College Foundation Fellowship, The Newberry Library, l987.
National Endowment for the Humanities Institute on English Archival Sciences, Newberry Library, 1985.
-Ford Foundation Research Institute on Women's Public Lives Summer Fellowship, University of Kansas, 1980.
-National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Fellowship, "Shakespeare and Human Experience," University of Virginia, 1979.
BOOKS
-Shakespeare's Foreign Worlds: National and Transnational Identities in the -Elizabethan Age, co-authored with John Watkins (Cornell University Press, 2009; paperback edn, 2012).
-Dreaming the English Renaissance: Politics and Desire in Court and Culture (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008).
-The Reign of Elizabeth I (Palgrave Macmillan, 2002).
-The Heart and Stomach of a King: Elizabeth I and the Politics of Sex and Power (University of Pennsylvania Press, New Cultural Studies Series, 1994). named one of the top ten academic books of the 1990s by the readers of Lingua Franca, September, 2000.
-Propaganda in the English Reformation: Heroic and Villainous Images of King John (The Edwin Mellen Press, 1988).