A well-researched, interesting read, informative about Robert Dudley's illegitimate son, and there were things I didn't know even as an amateur historian.

An enjoyable book to read.Well researched .I would recommend this book to anyone who likes ancient history.

The amazing story of the Dudley family and the illegitimate son of Elizabeth I’s favorite courtier, Robert Dudley. Robert Dudley the younger spent his life in the shadow of his father and younger brother, all named Robert Dudley.

A well-researched, interesting read about Robert Dudley's illegitimate son. I found the click-baity title a little distracting, but apart from that, it was well-written.

Interesting, very interesting. A look into the court of Elizabeth the 1st and the politics surrounding her and her court.

When we study the life of Queen Elizabeth I, the image of a virgin queen who never married tends to come to mind. Of course, she had a man who she favored above all others, Robert Dudley, but he married several times to Amy Robsart and Lettice Knollys. It was with Lettice Knollys that Robert Dudley was able to produce his heir, aptly named Robert Dudley Lord Denbigh, who unfortunately died at a young age. Robert Dudley was left without a legitimate heir, but he did have another son, albeit an illegitimate son, also named Robert Dudley. Julia A Hickey has decided to examine the life of the illegitimate Robert Dudley in her book, “The Son that Elizabeth I Never Had: The Adventurous Life of Robert Dudley’s Illegitimate Son.”

Thank you, Pen and Sword Books and Net Galley, for sending me a copy of this book. I am always in the mood to learn about someone from the Tudor period I have never heard about before. I did not know that Robert Dudley had an illegitimate son and that he might have been married before he married Lettice Knollys, so I was excited to learn more about this mysterious son.

Hickey begins her biography about this often forgotten Dudley by exploring the origins of the Dudley family and how his father was able to rise from the ashes to become Queen Elizabeth’s favorite. I think she did a decent job explaining Dudley's history, but Hickey tends to jump around instead of staying in chronological order with specific issues, which is a pet peeve for me. I also felt like this background information went on for a bit too long, but that might have been because I had just recently read a biography about Dudley, so most of the background information was not new to me.

Robert Dudley had fallen in love and allegedly married one of Elizabeth I’s maids of honor, Douglas Sheffield, who was Robert “Robin” Dudley’s mother. Robert Dudley would later marry Lettice Knollys to the ire of Queen Elizabeth I and had a son named Robert Dudley to add to the confusion, known as Lord Denbigh or “the noble imp.” After Robert’s legitimate son, we see the rise of Robin Dudley, as he became an explorer and trader in the silk industry. We also see Robin Dudley dealing with romantic scandals, notably leaving England, his wife Alice Leigh, and their growing family to flee to France with his mistress and future wife, Elizabeth Southwell. Robin and Elizabeth were married even though Robin never divorced Alice, thus committing bigamy and making him an enemy of the Stuarts, especially King James I.

Robin was also allegedly involved in the Essex Rebellion but only stayed in prison for a short time. He tried to gain legitimacy through a court case arguing that his parents were indeed married, but it failed spectacularly. Besides the scandals, Robin was an adventurer and deeply fascinated with navigation; his most notable work, The Secrets of the Sea, was the 1st atlas of the sea ever published. It was interesting to see how Robin’s life transformed as he worked in Italy until the end of his life and how he dealt with living during the reigns of Elizabeth and the early Stuarts in different ways.

I wanted to learn more about the early Stuart kings and the different issues that Hickey included in this book that were unfamiliar to me. Robert “Robin” Dudley lived quite a fascinating life, and I think he would have made his father Robert Dudley proud with his adventures to new lands and the book The Secrets of the Seas. Suppose you are also interested in learning more about Robert Dudley and his illegitimate son. In that case, I recommend reading “The Son that Elizabeth I Never Had: The Adventurous Life of Robert Dudley’s Illegitimate Son” by Julia A. Hickey.

This was an interesting read, I knew of her favourite Robert Dudley obviously, but I didn't know so much about the other people within the pages of the book. A really interesting, informative and well researched read.

The book is basically the story of the illegitimate son of Sir Robert Dudley who was a scholar, an adventurer and an Elizabethan design that should be better remembered then he is.

His birth began as one of broken bonds of trust - Queen Elizabeth had long been in love with his father. He spent time at Tilburg in 1597, and yet four years later we find him independent, wealthy,and a mark for himself in Queen Elizabeth's Court.He travelled, explored, taking a letter to the Emperor of China from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. He created a sea atlas, the first of its kind, that he had published in 1646. I strongly recommend this book to lovers of Elizabethan historian. It was absolutely fascinating and I had a very difficult time putting it firm.