This title sets the scene from 1541, charting the developments of the Mid-Tudor crisis from Henry VIII to Mary I. It then goes on to analyse the succession of Elizabeth and her consolidation of power, examining the political, religious and military internal and external threats to her rule. The problems during her final years are also explored and this title concludes by looking at key themes and interpretations across the period.
This is the story of Elizabeth I's inner circle and the crucial human relationships which lay at the heart of her personal and political life. Using a wide range of original sources - including private letters, portraits, verse, drama, and state papers - Susan Doran provides a vivid and often dramatic account of political life in Elizabethan England and the queen at its center, offering a deeper insight into Elizabeth's emotional and political conduct - and challenging many of the popular myths that have grown up around her.
Francis Drake, John Hawkins, Martin Frobisher and Walter Raleigh: these and other uniquely adventurous men sailed the seas in the service of Queen Elizabeth I, fighting, looting, and whoring their way across the globe. In the process, they established a British presence in the Americas, defeated the Spanish Armada, and made Elizabeth very wealthy . . . if not grateful. Through impeccable research, Hugh Bicheno examines these colorful, controversial characters, capturing contemporary views and placing them in historical context. With color plates and Bicheno's own maps and technical drawings, Elizabeth's Sea Dogs tells their vivid, extraordinary story.
The third volume in Terry Deary's gritty and humorous history series for adults The reign of Elizabeth I, a Golden Age? Try asking her subjects. Elizabethans did all they could to survive in an age of sin and bling, of beddings and beheadings, galleons and guns. Explorers set sail for new worlds, risking everything to bring back slaves, gold, and the priceless potato. Elizabeth lined her coffers while her subjects lived in squalor with hunger, violence, and misery as bedfellows. Shakespeare shone and yet the beggars and thieves, the doxies and bawdy baskets, scraped and cheated to survive in the shadows.
Francis Walsingham was the first 'spymaster' in the modern sense. His methods anticipated those of MI5 and MI6 and even those of the KGB. He maintained a network of spies across Europe, including double-agents at the highest level in Rome and Spain - the sworn enemies of Queen Elizabeth and her Protestant regime. His entrapment of Mary Queen of Scots is a classic intelligence operation that resulted in her execution. As Robert Hutchinson reveals, his cypher expert's ability to intercept other peoples' secret messages and his brilliant forged letters made him a fearsome champion of the young Elizabeth.
