A Short History of Early Modern England: British Literature in Context

Aims and Acknowledgements vi

Quoting from Early Modern Texts ix

Illustrations x

England’s Rulers From Richard II to Charles II xi

Timeline of Key Events xii

1 An Overview of Early Modern England 1

2 The Back-Story of the Tudor Dynasty: From Richard II to Henry VII 27

3 Henry VII, Henry VIII, and the Henrician Era (1509–47) 59

4 Edward VI, Lady Jane Grey, and Mary I (1547–53) 92

5 The Elizabethan Era (1558–1603) 115

6 The Reign of King James VI/I (1603–25) 149

7 Charles I (1625–42): From Accession to the Beginning of the Civil Wars 181

8 The Civil Wars, the Commonwealth, and the Early

Restoration (1642–71) 214

Index 252