Product Description

Philip Sydney was one of the most promising young men of his age, tipped for high office – and even to inherit the throne. But he found himself caught in the intricate politics of a Machiavellian court. Against a backdrop of Elizabethan intrigue, Alan Stewart tells the riveting story of Sidney’s struggle to succeed.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1198801 in Books
• Published on: 2001-05-30
• Released on: 2001-05-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Once Sir Philip Sidney died of an infected thigh wound in 1586 at 31, myth-making forces went to work. We know Sidney now as a courtier-poet cut down in his prime in a useless skirmish in the Netherlands and for giving his water to a dying soldier on the battlefield an incident that never happened, says British historian Stewart (coauthor of Hostage to Fortune: The Troubled Life of Francis Bacon). This man, known as the "epitome of Elizabethan chivalry" and "quintessential Englishman," appears here as disappointingly less than his reputation. The subtitular "double life" alludes to the fact that the handsome, talented, well-born Sir Philip was belittled and neglected in England by status-sensitive, conspiracy-minded Queen Elizabeth, while on the continent his poetry and his statesmanship earned him acclaim. Except for the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of 1572 in Paris, which he most likely witnessed, there was little drama in his life until the small war in which he was mortally wounded. Stewart furnishes a litany of Sidney's frustrations (his connections to noble families under royal suspicion injured his prospects), and examines his literary projects, which, but for the convoluted pastoral epic Arcadia, the lofty Defense of Poesie and the sonnet sequence Astrophil and Stella, remained unfinished. In Stewart's demythologized study, Sidney is the prisoner of his birthright. It is ironic that, because of his death, his less-talented younger brother Robert became Earl of Leicester and built a London mansion (which gave its name to Leicester Square), for which he is more widely remembered than his more accomplished older brother. Scrupulously researched but a bit sluggish in pace, this biography will appeal to fans of Elizabethan England. Illus.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
This Elizabethan court portrait depicts a promising scholar and politician, Sir Philip Sidney, whose handy relationships included being the son of Sir Henry, lord president of Wales and twice of Ireland; nephew and heir to both Robert, Earl of Leicester (Elizabeth's favorite) and his brother Earl of Warwick; and sister to Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke. Elizabeth's wariness of powerful subjects led to her underusing Sidney's diplomatic talents, but Sidney still left his mark. On a teenage trip abroad, during which his scholarship and family impressed continental Protestants, he developed diplomatic contacts, centered on arch-teacher and mentor Hubert Languet. He married the daughter of Sir Francis Walsingham, principal secretary of state. An ardent advocate of Protestant unity, Sidney got his chance for action against Spanish forces during Leicester's botched Dutch military governorship. Sidney died at 31 from wounds received in a heroic, futile skirmish in the Netherlands in 1586 and was subsequently lionized as a national hero and lost Protestant hope. Stewart (Renaissance studies, Birbeck Coll., London Univ.), who previously coauthored a book on Francis Bacon, has provided a well-executed text. While the book gets off to a slow start and gives too much away in the introduction, readers outside academe would otherwise be entertained by this portrait of an Elizabethan intriguer. Recommended for academic and larger public libraries. Nigel Tappin, MLS, Huntsville, Ont.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
An adept poet and a promising soldier-statesman, Sir Philip Sidney (1554-86) became, after his early death, a cherished symbol of the Elizabethan courtly ideal and an English hero of a stature somewhat disproportionate to his accomplishments. Stewart sidesteps the latter matter to present Sidney as an English favorite son and the great lost hope of European Protestantism, thereby providing focus for a large narrative that unfolds the byzantine political machinations in Britain and continental Europe clearly and compellingly, without sacrificing detail. Unfortunately, Sidney the poet is rather overshadowed, at the expense of understanding how the two aspects of Sidney were successfully married. Indeed, Sidney frequently proves far less interesting than many of those he encountered. His success as a statesman comes across as attributable more to his connections and good looks than any particular talent, and given the lack of deep analysis of his poetry, he remains attractive yet unengaging. Still, his fascinating supporting cast, so to speak, and Stewart's vivid depiction of his tumultuous era amply compensate for that shortcoming. Will Hickman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Philip Sidney: A Boring Life (Until the end, when he dies)
Admittedly I've never read another biography of Philip Sidney, but this one was a tough read. The author choose a tough topic, the often venerated, seldom understood Sir Philip Sidney courtier during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. I decided to read this book because it received a good review in the Atlantic Monthly which said Philip Sidney has been considered a true life embodiment of Castiglione's Perfect Courtier. From what I could tell this was because he died long before he was old enough to do anything unlike a perfect courtier.

The "Double Life" suggests the different ways Sidney was appreciated in England and on the continent. At home, Sidney was constantly being stifled by the whims and maneouvres of the Queen. (Elizabeth's actions are not well justified in Stewart's portrayal.) On the Continent, Sidney is venerated,befriended, and appreciated by Protestants and Catholics alike, for reasons that are not well explained in the text.

The biography also struggles to portray Sidney as a person. I could never get a handle on his personality because it seems that there is not enough documentation to determine what he was really like. Everytime his life got interesting or controversial, records or letters are absent. Thus his story, while fundamentally uninteresting is compounded with a series of anticlimaxes. The only event which was well documented was his death. This was particularly frustrating (after 310 pages) as the reader does not know whether to weep or to cheer.

The problem with Pillip Sidney: A Double Life was whether it should have been written in this format at all. The text is much more useful as an academic reference than as a "good read," yet it is packaged and written as if it were filled with intrigue, controversy, romance and interest. It is not, and probably could not be written so, due to scores of missing letters or other substantive evidence.

I gave the book two stars because it did convey a great deal of information, uninteresting or otherwise. It also did not seem to fail for any reason on its own merits of argument or fact.

I question whether this book should have been published. While I'm sure the author knows a great deal about Elizabethan England, he did not know that there simply isn't enough information about Philip Sidney to either get excited or to write an entire book about.

It seems that the reasons Pilip was regarded as the Perfect Courtier will forever remain a mystery. Vain attempts to explain this will not succeed until more information is discovered.