About Wonder Book Maryland, United States
Biblio member since 2003
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
With 3 stores less than 1 hour outside the DC/Metropolitan area (1 in Gaithersburg, 1 in Frederick and 1 in Hagerstown, MD), we have the largest selection of books in the tri-state area. Wonder Book and Video has been in business since 1980 and online since 1997. We have over 1 Million books for sale on our website and another 1 Million books for sale in our 3 locations. We have a very active online inventory and as such, we can receive multiple orders for the same item. We fill those orders on a first come first serve basis, but will refund promptly any items that are out of stock. Since 1980 it has always been about the books. ALL kinds of books from 95 cent children\'s paperbacks to five figure rare and collectibles. A merging of the old and new is where we started, and it is where we are today. Our retail stores have always been places where a reader can rush in looking for a title needed for a term paper that is due the next day, or where bibliophiles can get lost \"in the stacks\" for as long as they wish. In 2002 USAToday recognized us as \"1 of 10 Great Old Bookstores\", and we have been featured in numerous other newspaper and TV stories including Washington Post and CSpan.
Terms of Sale:
RETURNS are cheerfully accepted up to 30 days. We ship out within 1-2 business days and U.S. Standard Shipments usually arrive within 6-9 business days, Priority 3-6.
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Excerpt
The Age of Elizabeth I
1533 - 1603
From the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots to the defeat of the Spanish Armada; from the introduction to England of the humble potato to the ravages of the Black Death; and from the colonization of the New World to the creation of some of the greatest works in the English literary canon, the “Golden Age” of Queen Elizabeth I was a roller-coaster of colourful characters and momentous events
Born to the ill-fated Anne Boleyn during her brief marriage to King Henry VIII, Elizabeth was denounced as illegitimate following her mother’s beheading in 1536. Brought up far from the royal court, the young princess was nevertheless well educated and displayed a sharp intellect, proving herself a talented linguist, a keen sportswoman and an avid supporter of the arts, drawing pleasure from music, dancing, and theatre. Reinstated by her father in the line of succession in 1544, Elizabeth finally ascended to the throne in 1559, following the brief reigns of her half-brother Edward VI (1547–53), Lady Jane Grey, the “Nine Day Queen”, and finally her half-sister Mary I (1553–58) who had Elizabeth imprisoned in the Tower of London on suspicion of attempted treason.
Despite being linked romantically to Thomas Seymour, husband to her widowed stepmother Katherine Parr and a convicted traitor; Philip II of Spain, who sought her hand following the death of his wife Mary I; Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester; and two dukes of Anjou, Henri and Francis, Elizabeth never married. Whether her reasons were personal or political, driven by concerns over religious differences and loss of regal powers, the “Virgin Queen” died childless as the last monarch of the Tudor dynasty.
Upon her coronation Elizabeth cast out the Catholicism that had been in force during Mary’s reign, returning England to the Protestant faith and laying the foundations for the modern-day Church of England. For much of Elizabeth’s reign, her cousin Mary Queen of Scots posed a shadowy threat to the crown, exiled from her own country where her son James VI was declared king in her place in 1567. The next year, Mary sought refuge in England, where for nearly 20 years Elizabeth held her as prisoner until, in 1587, she authorized her cousin’s execution on suspicion of involvement in the Babington plot.
Elizabeth proved herself an exceptionally able strategist, leading her country through a period of rapid territorial expansion and military conquest. Under her rule, an English fleet of some 200 vessels defeated Philip II’s 130-strong Spanish Armada in 1588, while adventurers such as Sir Francis Drake, Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Walter Raleigh began the English colonization of the New World, with the foundation of the first English colony at Roanoke Island, the naming and claiming of New Albion (California), Newfoundland, and Virginia. Her reign was a time of great cultural achievement also, encompassing the work of playwrights such as Christopher Marlow, Ben Johnson and, most notably, William Shakespeare and of poets such as Edmund Spenser and Sir Philip Sidney.
Upon her death in 1603, Elizabeth was succeeded
by her cousin’s son James VI of Scotland, who as James I of England became the first king to unite the two countries under a single monarch.
