The dramatic, influential and highly-documented life of Elizabeth I will be presented by Dr. William B. Robison in his lecture titled “Elizabeth I: Fact, Fiction, Film” on Saturday, Oct. 8 at Vianne’s Tea House in Mandeville.
Robison plans to outline Elizabeth I’s life, including the beheading of her mother, her decision to marry or not and England’s war with Phillip II, King of Spain.
“I’m going to give a broad outline of her life,” said Robison. “She lived through very tumultuous times as a child. You know, her mother gets her head cut off. That’s not a good start. Then I’ll look at the main challenges that she faced as a queen, being a woman in a male dominated age.”
All students and community members are welcome to attend. There is a $5 entrance fee, but according to Karri Blache, co-owner of Vianne’s Tea House and Tea Sommelier, the price is far worth the experience and the opportunity to learn information.
Robison is the university expert on British and Early-Modern history. He and co-author Sue Parrill are finishing the manuscript for their new book, “The Tudors of Film and Television,” which will be published next spring.
In their book, Robison and Parrill discuss the movies and television series based on the lives of the Tudor family, comparing the works to historical facts. According to Robison, they analyze the movies from three points of view: accuracy, quality of the films related to their accuracy and what the film says about the time in which it was made.
“For example, a lot of movies made about the Tudors in the late 1930s, they’re really influenced by contemporary politics,” said Robison. “The bad guy on the continent, whether its Charles V or Phillip II, is always really Hitler. There are political messages.”
Along with outlining the life of Elizabeth I, Robison plans to bring his knowledge of the Tudor films into the lecture, discussing and showing clips of a few related movies.
“Take the Cate Blanchett movies for example,” Dr. Robison said. “They’re beautiful movies to watch. The production values in them are just stunning but they’re not very accurate. They’re really more about the concerns of the ‘90s and the early 21st century than they are about Elizabeth.”
In addition to hearing Robison’s lecture, one may also purchase pots of European-style tea and lunch from the open kitchen.
According to Blache, once a month, Vianne’s Tea House in Mandeville welcomes interesting speakers from across the nation to present their works. They have recently hosted speakers such as Professor Michael Jones, napoleonic historian from California and Peggy Scott Laborde, documentary and film producer for the Public Broadcasting Service.
For more information about the upcoming lecture, “Elizabeth I: Fact, Fiction, Film” or for more information about Vianne’s Tea House and their monthly speakers, visit Vianne’s Tea House Web site at Viannes.com or call them at 985-624-5683.