The Son that Elizabeth I Never Had - The Adventurous Life of Robert Dudley’s
Illegitimate Son written by Julia A. Hickey and published by Pen & Sword Books
- £22 - Hardback - Pages 224
Sir Robert Dudley, the handsome ‘base born’ son of Elizabeth I’s favourite, was born amidst
scandal and intrigue. The story of his birth is one of love, royalty and broken bonds of trust.
He was at Tilbury with the Earl of Leicester in 1587; four years later he was wealthy,
independent and making a mark in Elizabeth’s court; he explored Trinidad, searched for the
fabled gold of El Dorado and backed a voyage taking a letter from the queen to the Emperor
of China. He took part in the Earl of Essex’s raid on Cadiz and was implicated in the earl’s
rebellion in 1601 but what he wanted most was to prove his legitimacy. Refusing to accept
the lot Fate dealt him after the death of the Queen, he abandoned his family, his home and
his country never to return. He carved his own destiny in Tuscany as an engineer, courtier,
shipbuilder and seafarer with the woman he loved at his side. His sea atlas, the first of its
kind, was published in 1646. The Dell’Arcano del Mare took more than twelve years to write
and was the culmination of a lifetime’s work. Robert Dudley, the son Elizabeth never had, is
the story of a scholar, an adventurer and an Elizabethan seadog that deserves to be better
known.
For someone who was considered ‘base born’ or illegitimate, Robin Dudley actually turned out to be a fine young man who had to fight or prove he deserved better than what life had labeled him. He tackled numerous jobs, the type that were of the kind you would expect with connections, as he was an engineer, shipbuilder, explorer to mention a few. Clearly a man that gets little notice or attention, but he turns out to be a rather interesting character. An intriguing book that has been very well written by the author Julia A. Hickey.
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