Elizabethan foreign policy was very much the policy of Queen Elizabeth l herself. It was not foreplanned, envisaged whole in advance. It was built up out of her responses to questions and problems posed by her relations with neighboring and, in the case of France and Spain, far more powerful countries. The responses, inspired by consistant instincts and opinions concerning her own country's true interests, grew into a coherent policy.

Elizabethan foreign policy was very much the policy of Queen Elizabeth l herself. It was not foreplanned, envisaged whole in advance. It was built up out of her responses to questions and problems posed by her relations with neighboring and, in the case of France and Spain, far more powerful countries. The responses, inspired by consistant instincts and opinions concerning her own country's true interests, grew into a coherent policy.

At her accession in 1558 Elizabeth I inherited a troublesome legacy with a long history of wars against France and Scotland. This international situation was becoming a huge financial burden on the English crown and economy. Elizabeth I and Foreign Policy describes and assesses England's foreign policy during the second half of the sixteenth century. It includes coverage of Elizabeth's relations with foreign powers, the effect of Reformation on foreign affairs, Elizabeth's successs as a stateswoman and the war with Spain.

Susan Doran describes and analyses the process of the Elizabethan Reformation, placing it in an English and a European context. She examines the religious views and policies of the Queen, the making of the 1559 settlement and the resulting reforms. The changing beliefs of the English people are discussed, and the author charts the fortunes of both Puritanism and Catholicism. Finally she looks at the strengths and weaknesses of Elizabeth I as royal governor, and of the Church of England as a whole.

An exploration of the importation of French political thought into England during the last decades of Elizabeth's reign. The French Religious Wars generated a large body of political propaganda from the Huguenots, the Politiques (a Huguenot-Catholic confederacy) and the Catholic League. Dr. Parmelee discusses how, in the last decades of the reign ofElizabeth I some 130 translated documents were imported into England, most of them - originating from the Politiques, written in support of the Protestant Henry of Navarre's accession to the French throne-advocating religious tolerance as a way to peace. She argues that while most English political thinkers did not openly embrace or articulate the absolutist ideas often expressed in these writings, they had a wide impact on political discourse in the lateElizabethan period. They were useful against foreign enemies, Catholic recusants and Presbyterians, but particularly, in a time of fear of civil war engendered by an unsettled succession, they helped to establish an intellectualclimate conducive to the later development of Stuart absolutism. Dr. Lisa Ferraro Parmelee teaches in the Department of History at Villanova University.

Reviews Shakespeare's view of masculinity through The Tempest, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth and others.

This book provides a thematic survey of English foreign policy in the sixteenth century, focusing on the influence of the concept of honour, security concerns, religious ideology and commercial interests on the making of policy. It draws attention to aspects of continuity with the late-medieval past but argues, too, that the European Reformation brought new challenges which forced a rethinking of policy. Far from treating the sixteenth century as the period when England began its rise as a Great Power, the author emphasises the structural weaknesses of the English armed forces and demonstrates that dangers and insecurities did more to mould foreign policy than the energy and confidence of the Tudor rulers.

An original, compellingly told story of women's fight to represent their country abroad in the face of opposition from the men of the Foreign Office 'A fascinating account of the manoeuvres of the leaders of the Foreign Office to prevent the admission of women to its diplomatic and consular services' Spectator 'The women are striking, the trajectories of their often brief careers compelling' Observer Throughout the twentieth century and long before, hundreds of determined British women defied the social conventions of their day in order to seek adventure and influence on the world stage. Some became travellers and explorers; others business-owners or buyers; others still devoted their lives to worthy international causes, from anti-slavery and women's suffrage to the League of Nations and world peace. Yet until 1946, no British woman could officially represent her nation abroad. It was only after decades of campaigning and the heroic labours performed by women during the Second World War that diplomatic careers were finally opened to both sexes. Women of the World tells this story of personal and professional struggle against the dramatic backdrop of war, super-power rivalry and global transformation over the last century and a half. From London to Washington, Geneva to Tehran, and in the deserts of Arabia, the souks of Damascus and the hospitals of Sarajevo, resolute women undaunted by intransigent officials and hostile foreign governments proved their worth. Moved by a longing to escape domestic redundancy, to follow in the footsteps of fathers or brothers, to build a more peaceful world, to discover cultures other than their own or simply to serve the nation which denied them full equality, these women were extraordinary individuals fighting prejudice in high places. Drawing on letters, memoirs, personal interviews and government records, these heroines caught up in the larger endeavours of the world's greatest empire are brought vividly to life to enrich our understanding of Britain's global history in modern times.

No period of British history generates such deep interest as the reign of Elizabeth I, from 1558 to 1603. The individuals and events of that era continue to be popular topics for contemporary literature and film, and Elizabethan drama, poetry, and music are studied and enjoyed everywhere by students, scholars, and the general public. The Historical Dictionary of the Elizabeth World provides clear definitions and descriptions of people, events, institutions, ideas, and terminology relating in some significant way to the Elizabethan period. The first dictionary of history to focus exclusively on the reign of Elizabeth I, the Dictionary is also the first to take a broad trans-Atlantic approach to the period by including relevant individuals and terms from Irish, Scottish, Welsh, American, and Western European history. Editors' Choice: Reference

His thesis is simple: English policy in Ireland was shaped to a greater extent than has previously been realized by foreign policy and the power politics of the Counter Reformation... A brief but important book.'CHOICE Dr Palmer explores the role of sixteenth-century Ireland in considerable depth, examining how it changed during times of crisis abroad, and how the tensions provoked by the Reformation in England introduced an ideological element into international politics. He shows how the failure of Henry's invasions of Scotland and France in the 1540s led to greater involvement in Ireland by these countries, which in turn led to the entry of more and more English officials into Ireland and the implementation of increasingly aggressive policies. This study thus shows that Tudor rule in Ireland reflected wider international politics, with significant implications.WILLIAM PALMERis Professor of History at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia.