Most fun for the adults: Seeing letters written by Queen Elizabeth in her own, perfect, hand-writing.

Most fun for the kids: Seeing the old books and listening to the music of Tudor England.

Best ages for this attraction: 10+

Price per tickets: Free.

Elizabeth I: Ruler and Legend is on display at the Newberry Library from September 30, 2003 through January 17, 2004. Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) ruled England for nearly forty-five years from 1558 to 1603. She oversaw a period of religious reformation, the defeat of the Spanish Armada, the exploits of Drake and Raleigh, and breathtaking cultural achievement, including poetry and drama of Shakespeare and his contemporaries.

This exhibition, the largest in North America during the 500th anniversary of her death, investigations Elizabeth's career as a head of state, reveals the political workings of her court, and examines the cultural and diplomatic worlds of sixteenth-century England. The exhibition features beautiful and rare books, maps, manuscripts, and decorative objects from the Newberry's renowned Elizabethan collections, the British Library, the Art Institute of Chicago, libraries at the Univeristy of Kansas and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and distinguished private collections.

We were lucky enough to partake in a gallery walk and the curator was very informative explaining the history behind the documents. Several of the documents are difficult to read since they are hand-written in old English. But it is interesting to see the handwriting of people you have learned about in history classes through the years. There are even several letter Elizabeth herself wrote, in perfect handwriting.

There is also some rare artwork on display as part of the Exhibit. It ends up that a Chicago native has been collecting Elizabethan artworks and through an association with the Newberry Library, heard about the exhibit. He lent his pieces only to be on display here in Chicago.

Walking through the exhibit is like being suspended in time. I have been to several museum exhibits before, but this one is different. It's use of letters written by these fascinating people and the books they read or that were wrote about them in their time, instead of our modern time, is very unique. There are some letter written from Elizabeth to her sister Mary when Mary was Queen, letters from James I, before he was king, to Queen Elizabeth asking about why she signed the death warrant of his mother, Mary Queen of Scots. Elizabeth's reply is included as well. These pairings of letters let the visitor understand some of the games being played between these great powers.

Several programs on Queen Elizabeth I are offered throughout the length of the exhibit. A Shakespeare "original practices" production of Twelfth Night and a modern version of the Henry VI trilogy, Rose Rage are scheduled. Other programs range for a talk about the Queen's many suitors, movie nights, and performances of Tudor music.

This exhibit is free and the gallery hours are Monday, Friday and Saturday, 8:15 am - 5:30 pm and Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 8:15 am - 7:30 pm. No photographs are allowed inside the exhibit. A few postcards and a book have been especially created for this exhibit and are for sale in the Newberry Library gift shop.