The Birth of the Elizabethan Age

This is the first of a new series of books that will tell the history of early modern England from the perspective of those living at the time. Norman Jones' fascinating account details both the individual preoccupations (such as illness and famine) and the larger historical changes (such as fears over the succession and the establishment of Protestantism) which dominated life during the 1560s. Table of Abbreviations.

Preface.

1. Prologue.

2. In the Beginning: 1559.

3. The Unsettled Settlement of Religion.

4. Protestant Discontents.

5. Catholic Confusion.

6. Marriage.

7. Royal Marriage.

8. Family Values.

9. Carpe Diem.

10. Making a Living.

11. Epilogue.

Suggestions for Further Reading.

Index.

"Norman Jones has really brought the age and its people fully to life, approaching them from all conceivable angles and in every aspect of their lives, private and public. For once we really live with the generality of Englishmen and women. At the same time, the role and actions of the ruling sort are not left out: everything is most convincingly knit together. This is a major achievement, and I especially admired the way in which the author managed to instil in the reader the joy he had in putting this book together." Sir Geoffrey Elton, Clare College, Cambridge

"His book is delightful, truly informative, and creative." The Virginia Quarterly Review

"Provocative and exciting, his treatment is nothing less than exemplary. The text is documented thoroughly and is supplemented with 15 illustrations." Choice

Norman Jones is Professor of History at Utah State University and author of God and the Moneylenders (Blackwell, 1989). The 1560s saw the settling of a number of issues that had been plaguing Tudor England since the reign of Henry VIII. With the accession of Elizabeth I the Henrican succession was complete, Protestantism finally victorious and entangling dynastic wars ended. No sooner were these resolved, however, than they rose again in new forms as fear over the succession, religious dissent and ideological commitment began to reshape foreign and domestic concerns. The high politics of the decade, as well as its religious history, concentrated on these issues.

Norman Jones draws heavily on both primary and secondary works to provide a fascinating account of life in the 1560s through the voices of contemporaries. His account will be fascinating reading for anyone interested in this period.