English Reformations takes a refreshing new approach to the study of the Reformation in England. Christopher Haigh's lively and readable study disproves any facile assumption that the triumph of Protestantism was inevitable, and goes beyond the surface of official political policy to explorethe religious views and practices of ordinary English people. With the benefit of hindsight, other historians have traced the course of the Reformation as a series of events inescapably culminating in the creation of the English Protestant establishment. Dr Haigh sets out to recreate the sixteenthcentury as a time of excitement and insecurity, with each new policy or ruler causing the reversal of earlier religious changes. This is a scholarly and stimulating book, which challenges traditional ideas about the Reformation and offers a powerful and convincing alternative analysis.

'Masterly' - Eric Metaxas 'Mould-breaking' - John Guy 'A little gem of a book' - Suzannah Lipscomb From the Introduction: ‘There is no such thing as “the English Reformation”. A "Reformation" is a composite event which is only made visible by being framed the right way. It is like a “war”: a label we put onto a particular set of events, while we decide that other – equally violent – acts are not part of that or of any "war". Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century English people knew that they were living through an age of religious upheaval, but they did not know that it was "the English Reformation", any more than the soldiers at the battle of Agincourt knew that they were fighting in “the Hundred Years’ War”. . . . ‘Plainly these religious upheavals permanently changed England and, by extension, the many other countries on which English culture has made its mark. There is not, however, a single master narrative of all this turmoil. How could there be? . . . The way you choose to tell the story is governed by what you think is important and what is trivial, by whether there are heroes or villains you want to celebrate or condemn, and by the legacies and lessons which you think matter. Once you have chosen your frame, it will give you the story you want. ‘So this book does not tell "the story" of “the English Reformation”. It tells the stories of six English Reformations, or rather six stories of religious change in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England. The stories are parallel and overlapping, but each has a somewhat different chronological frame, cast of characters and set of pivotal events, and has left a different legacy.’

‘Anyone who writes about the Tudor century puts his head into a number of untamed lions’ mouths.’ G.R. Elton, Preface Geoffrey Elton (1921–1994) was one of the great historians of the Tudor period. England Under the Tudors is his major work and an outstanding history of a crucial and turbulent period in British and European history. Revised several times since its first publication in 1955, England Under the Tudors charts a historical period that witnessed monumental changes in religion, monarchy, and government – and one that continued to shape British history long after. Spanning the commencement of Henry VII's reign to the death of Elizabeth I, Elton’s magisterial account is populated by many colourful and influential characters, from Cardinal Wolsey, Thomas Cranmer, and Thomas Cromwell to Henry VIII and Mary Queen of Scots. Elton also examines aspects of the Tudor period that had been previously overlooked, such as empire and commonwealth, agriculture and industry, seapower, and the role of the arts and literature. This Routledge Classics edition includes a new foreword by Diarmaid MacCulloch.

The turbulent Tudor Age never fails to capture the imagination. But what was it truly like to be a woman during this era? The Tudor period conjures up images of queens and noblewomen in elaborate court dress; of palace intrigue and dramatic politics. But if you were a woman, it was also a time when death during childbirth was rife; when marriage was usually a legal contract, not a matter for love, and the education you could hope to receive was minimal at best. Yet the Tudor century was also dominated by powerful and dynamic women in a way that no era had been before. Historian Elizabeth Norton explores the life cycle of the Tudor woman, from childhood to old age, through the diverging examples of women such as Elizabeth Tudor, Henry VIII’s sister; Cecily Burbage, Elizabeth's wet nurse; Mary Howard, widowed but influential at court; Elizabeth Boleyn, mother of a controversial queen; and Elizabeth Barton, a peasant girl who would be lauded as a prophetess. Their stories are interwoven with studies of topics ranging from Tudor toys to contraception to witchcraft, painting a portrait of the lives of queens and serving maids, nuns and harlots, widows and chaperones. Norton brings this vibrant period to colorful life in an evocative and insightful social history.

Exam Board: Edexcel Level: A-level Subject: History First teaching: September 2015 First exams: Summer 2017 Give your students the best chance of success with this tried and tested series, combining in-depth analysis, engaging narrative and accessibility. Access to History is the most popular, trusted and wide-ranging series for A-level History students. This title: - Supports the content and assessment requirements of the 2015 A-level History specifications - Contains authoritative and engaging content - Includes thought-provoking key debates that examine the opposing views and approaches of historians - Provides exam-style questions and guidance for each relevant specification to help students understand how to apply what they have learnt This title is suitable for a variety of courses including: - Edexcel: Option 31: Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors, 1485-1603

Review: "In this groundbreaking new biography, G.W. Bernard offers a fresh portrait of one of England's most captivating queens. Through a wide-ranging forensic examination of sixteenth-century sources, Bernard reconsiders Boleyn's girlhood, her experience at the French court, the nature of her relationship with Henry and the authenticity of her evangelical sympathies. He depicts Anne Boleyn as a captivating, intelligent and highly sexual woman whose attractions Henry resisted for years until marriage could ensure legitimacy for their offspring." "He shows that it was Henry, not Anne, who developed the ideas that led to the break with Rome. And, most radically, he argues that the allegations of adultery that led to Anne's execution in the Tower could he close to the truth."--BOOK JACKET

The establishment of the Anglican Church and the strengthening of the English monarchy during the 16th and early 17th centuries together served as the foundation of the modern British state. This text provides an overview of a crucial phase in English history.

Peter Ackroyd, one of Britain's most acclaimed writers, brings the age of the Tudors to vivid life in this monumental book in his The History of England series, charting the course of English history from Henry VIII's cataclysmic break with Rome to the epic rule of Elizabeth I. Rich in detail and atmosphere, Peter Ackroyd's Tudors is the story of Henry VIII's relentless pursuit of both the perfect wife and the perfect heir; of how the brief reign of the teenage king, Edward VI, gave way to the violent reimposition of Catholicism and the stench of bonfires under "Bloody Mary." It tells, too, of the long reign of Elizabeth I, which, though marked by civil strife, plots against the queen and even an invasion force, finally brought stability. Above all, however, it is the story of the English Reformation and the making of the Anglican Church. At the beginning of the sixteenth century, England was still largely feudal and looked to Rome for direction; at its end, it was a country where good governance was the duty of the state, not the church, and where men and women began to look to themselves for answers rather than to those who ruled them.