Kenilworth

Kenilworth recreates the drama and the strange mixture of assurance and profound unease of the age of Elizabeth through the story of Amy Robsart. A woman of great beauty and integrity, Amy is married to the Earl of Leicester, one of the queen's favorites, who must keep his marriage secret or else incur royal displeasure. When it was published in 1821 it was an immediate success with both readers and critics. The Edinburgh Review praised Scott for bringing to life the character of Queen Elizabeth, and for the way in which he contrasted the evil plotting of Varney against the grandeur of Kenilworth Castle.