The Reign of Elizabeth 1

by Carole Levin

Overview

The reign of Elizabeth I was marked by change: England finally became a protestant nation, and England's relations with her neighbours were also changing, in part because of religious controversies. Elizabeth's reign was also significant in terms of changing gender expectations, and in terms of attitudes towards those considered different. While a woman ruled, others, often at the bottom of the social scale, were condemned as witches.
Levin evaluates Elizabeth and the significance of her reign both in the context of her age and our own, examining the increasing cultural diversity of Elizabethan England and the impact of the reign of an unmarried queen on gender expectations, as well as exploring the more traditional themes of religion, foreign policy, plots and conspiracies. Levin's fresh perspective will be welcomed by students of this exceptional reign.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350317192
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	03/14/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	146
File size:	257 KB

About the Author

CAROLE LEVIN is Professor of History at the University of Nebraska and the author of The Heart and Stomach of a King: Elizabeth I and the Politics of Sex and Power and Propaganda in the English Reformation: Heroic and Villainous Images of King John. She has held fellowships at the Folger Shakespeare Library and the Newberry Library.
CAROLE LEVIN is Professor of History at the University of Nebraska, USA.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Overview of Elizabeth's life and reign
Religious Divides and the Religious Settlement
England's relations with others in the first part of the reign
England's relations with others in the last part of the reign
Plots, conspiracies and the succession
Culture and difference at the end of the reign
Bibliography.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

A concise guide to Elizabeth's life, Levin's book describes the Queen's complex web of alliances and personages, without losing the reader. The Reign of Elizabeth is recommended reading for anyone interested in a user-friendly look at England's most famous queen.' – Renaissance Magazine

' ... a brief, well-written overview of Elizabeth's political, religious and cultural significance.' – Publisher's Weekly' ... a short but well-annotated volume to clarify the history of this famous Queen ... ' – Barbara Friedmann, Renaissance Magazine

' ... she has succeeded in providing students and instructors with a lively and interesting new text.' – Victoria de la Torre, Albion

'This brief study, which synthesizes the recent work of many Elizabethan scholars, is an extremely useful introduction to the reign of this queen.' – Retha M. Warnicke, Renaissance Quarterly

'Levin is a skillful weaver of the threads of politics, religion and culture together into an interesting tapestry which insightfully shows us the extent of the research which has been done on the Elizabethan age in the past two decades.' – Robert J.Mueller, Sixteenth Century Journal

Editorial Reviews

Queen Elizabeth I is among the most written about women in history. Her long reign (1558-1603) was marked by enormous economic growth, the beginnings of a global empire and unprecedented cultural achievement. The "age of Elizabeth" was also the age of William Shakespeare, Walter Raleigh and Philip Sidney. Levin, professor of history at the University of Nebraska, has penned a brief, well-written overview of Elizabeth's political, religious and cultural significance. Levin is especially skilled at examining the links between religion and foreign policy. From her father, Henry VIII, Elizabeth inherited an Anglican religious establishment that was governed by the monarch. Elizabeth's genius was in creating an intricate balance between those who advocated a return to Catholicism and those Protestant radicals who favored a more Calvinist establishment (i.e., Puritans). Elizabeth's "latitudinarian" religious policy pleased neither Catholics nor Puritans, but it allowed her to keep the peace. Elizabeth's foreign policy was also dominated by religion. England's archenemies were Catholic Spain and France. Her allies were the Protestant Dutch, who were at war with the occupying Spanish. Unmarried, Elizabeth brilliantly used marriage negotiations to maintain the European balance of power. Spain constantly plotted Elizabeth's assassination, hoping to replace her with her Catholic cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots. Elizabeth had Mary executed in 1587. In 1588, the Spanish Armada was roundly defeated as it tried to attack England: it was the watershed moment in Elizabeth's reign. Levin's concise account seems aimed at the general reader, but it's overpriced for that market. Serious historians will want to consult more comprehensive scholarship, such as John Neale's magnificent Queen Elizabeth I. (Feb. 4) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

..".a short but well-annotated volume to clarify the history of this famous Queen...."--Barbara Friedmann, Renaissance Magazine
..".a well-written overview of Elizabeth's political, religious and cultural significance..." --Publishers Weekly


."..a short but well-annotated volume to clarify the history of this famous Queen...."--Barbara Friedmann, Renaissance Magazine

."..a well-written overview of Elizabeth's political, religious and cultural significance..." --"Publishers Weekly"


.,."a short but well-annotated volume to clarify the history of this famous Queen...."--Barbara Friedmann, Renaissance Magazine
.,."a well-written overview of Elizabeth's political, religious and cultural significance..." --"Publishers Weekly"


., ."a short but well-annotated volume to clarify the history of this famous Queen...."--Barbara Friedmann, Renaissance Magazine
., ."a well-written overview of Elizabeth's political, religious and cultural significance..." --"Publishers Weekly"


, .."a short but well-annotated volume to clarify the history of this famous Queen...."--Barbara Friedmann, Renaissance Magazine

, .."a well-written overview of Elizabeth's political, religious and cultural significance..." -- Publishers Weekly


..."a short but well-annotated volume to clarify the history of this famous Queen...."--Barbara Friedmann, Renaissance Magazine
..."a well-written overview of Elizabeth's political, religious and cultural significance..." --"Publishers Weekly"

From the Publisher