The Early Elizabethan Polity by Stephen Alford

The Early Elizabethan Polity by Stephen Alford

Traditionally historians have argued that the court of Elizabeth I (1558-1603) was factional, divided among competing subjects who were manipulated by their Queen. This book provides a different account: of councilors who were united by two connected dangers, namely Catholic opposition to Protestant England and Elizabeth's refusal to marry or to settle England's succession. Working from the papers of the Queen's secretary, William Cecil, the author has set this crisis in the context of events in Scotland, Ireland and mainland Europe, and has explored fully the long-term political impact of this succession crisis in the 1560s.

'The book makes good use of Cecil's massive personal archive, the most extensively by far of any contemporary statesman or politician the book does, certainly, reveal a familiar figure in a new light and disposes of Macaulay's caricature of him as a wooden yes-man' Lincolnshire History and Archaeology

Stephen Alford is a fellow in history at King's College, Cambridge, and the author of the acclaimed Burghley: William Cecil at the Court of Elizabeth I, The Early Elizabethan Polity: William Cecil and the British Succession Crisis, 1558-1569, and Kingship and Politics in the Reign of Edward VI. He writes for the Times Literary Supplement and other periodicals.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780521622189
ISBN 10	0521622182
Title	The Early Elizabethan Polity
Author	Stephen Alford
Series	Cambridge Studies In Early Modern British History
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Year published	1998-09-03
Number of pages	288
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.