First Published in 1999. This is Volume III of a collection of Elizabethan and Jacobean journals from 1591 to and 1610 and includes an Elizabethan journal, being a record of those things most talked of during the years 1599–1603.

This set provides a detailed and intimate account of the Elizabethan and Jacobean World picture. The volumes vividly convey life as it was in the days of Shakespeare; King James; the first voyage to the West Indies; the Great Plague of 1603; the Gunpowder Plot; the Civil War, and the first impact of Galileo's discoveries. In compiling these volumes, G.B. Harrison undertook a massive trawl of original sources of British social and political history of the period. Each journal contains a chronology of key events of the period, unfolding as they would for contemporaries. This rare panorama of one of England's most colourful periods in history provides an essential background for enlightened reading of Elizabethan and Jacobean literature, offering as it does, crucial insights into influences affecting the literature and attitudes of the time.

First Published in 1999. This is Volume III of a collection of Elizabethan and Jacobean journals from 1591 to and 1610 and includes an Elizabethan journal, being a record of those things most talked of during the years 1599–1603.

An indespensable companion to The Norton Shakespeare, Based on the Oxford Edition, this is the most comprehensive reference work on Shakespearean textual problems ever compiled in a single volume. William Shakespeare: A Textual Companion provides a wealth of information about the problems presented by texts and the processes by which editorial decisions are reached. The General Introduction discusses the critical and theoretical issues raised by different kinds of editions, the nature of early manuscripts, printed texts, and the evidence for the canon and chronology of Shakespeare's works. It also offers a concise history of the editing of Shakespeare and sets forth the editorial principles of the Oxford Edition. Included for each work, are an introduction, textual notes, press variants, discussions of emendations and problems of modernization, plausible alternative readings, and a letter-by-letter reprint of the stage directions in the control text, among other materials. --

First published in 1958. This is the final Volume V of a collection of Elizabethan and Jacobean journals from 1591 to and 1610 and includes an Elizabethan journal, being a record of those things most talked of during the years 1607–1610.

A new account of Elizabethan diplomacy with an original archival foundation, this book examines the world of letters underlying diplomacy and political administration by exploring a material text never before studied in its own right: the diplomatic letter-book. Author Elizabeth R. Williamson argues that a new focus on the central activity of information gathering allows us to situate diplomacy in its natural context as one of several intertwined areas of crown service, and as one of the several sites of production of political information under Elizabeth I. Close attention to the material features of these letter-books elucidates the environment in which they were produced, copied, and kept, and exposes the shared skills and practices of diplomatic activity, domestic governance, and early modern archiving. This archaeological exploration of epistolary and archival culture establishes a métier of state actor that participates in – even defines – a notably early modern growth in administration and information management. Extending this discussion to our own conditions of access, a new parallel is drawn across two ages of information obsession as Williamson argues that the digital has a natural place in this textual history that we can no longer ignore. This study makes significant contributions to epistolary culture, diplomatic history, and early modern studies more widely, by showing that understanding Elizabethan diplomacy takes us far beyond any single ambassador or agent defined as such: it is a way into an entire administrative landscape and political culture.

Myriad-minded Shakespeare introduces readers to the great variety of approaches to Shakespeare. The political and sexist implications of the plays, their sources, staging issues, textual disputes and the dramatist's character and biography are all analysed here, bringing out the interconnectedness of critical questions. Ernst Honigmann plunges straight into his subjects and shows that it is rarely safe to seek solutions that are narrowly exclusive. For the second edition a new preface places the essays in the context of recent critical debate and a new chapter on Shakespeare's will provides a fascinating insight into Shakespeare's independent spirit.

From the private world of a beloved English queen, a story of intimacy, royalty, espionage, rumor, and subterfuge Queen Elizabeth I acceded to the throne in 1558, restoring the Protestant faith to England. At the heart of the new queen's court lay her bedchamber, closely guarded by the favored women who helped her dress, looked after her jewels, and shared her bed. Elizabeth's private life was of public concern. Her bedfellows were witnesses to the face and body beneath the makeup and raiment, as well as to rumored dalliances with such figures as Earl Robert Dudley. Their presence was for security as well as propriety, as the kingdom was haunted by fears of assassination plots and other Catholic stratagems. Such was the significance of the queen's body: it represented the very British state itself. In The Queen's Bed, the historian Anna Whitelock offers a revealing look at the Elizabethan court and the politics of intimacy. She dramatically reconstructs, for the first time, the queen's quarters and the women who patrolled them. It is a story of sex, gossip, conspiracy, and intrigue brought to life amid the colors, textures, smells, and routines of the royal court. The women who attended the queen held the truth about her health, chastity, and fertility. They were her friends, confidantes, and spies—nobody knew her better. And until now, historians have overlooked them. The Queen's Bed is a revelatory, insightful look into their daily lives—the untold story of the queen laid bare.