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The Elizabethan Age is arguably that greatest in English history. Furthermore it is not something dead and apart from us: it is alive and all around us. England contains the visible memorials of Elizabethan society: the houses they built; the objects they cherished; the patterns they imposed upon the very landscape. Rowse's classic study is a detailed account of that society and tradition from the lowest social class to the men and women who governed the realm. This reissue of Rowse's show more famously vivid portrayal of the Elizabethan world is complemented by a major introduction from Christopher Haigh which offers both a reflection on Rowse's masterpiece and an assessment of the Elizabethan Age. show lessTags
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As a history book, this work has not dated particularly well; as a paean to Elizabethan England, and to the English themselves, though, it's still remarkably enjoyable. Even after his death, Rowse has remained the Grand Old Man of Elizabethan studies, and after reading this, it's really not hard to see why. The depth of erudition he displays is matched only by his humour and common sense, and by the wonderful fluidity of his prose. There is an undercurrent to his prose, though, a certain aspect to his views of women, of non-Anglican Christianity, of the working classes, which I think ties the work in quite clearly to its publication date of 1950, and shows authorial influence too clearly for a history book (and anyone who has spent any show more time in academic circles will know of Rowse's personal reputation). A shame with a history book as good as this; and yet still, I am sure, one that will be read for many more years regardless show less
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139+ Works 4,281 Members
Alfred Leslie Rowse was a British author and historian. He was born at Tregonissey in 1903. He is known for his work in Elizabethan England and his poetry about Cornwall. He graduated with first class honours in 1925 and was elected a Fellow of All Souls College the same year. In 1929, he was awarded his Master of Arts degree, and in 1927 was show more appointed Lecturer at Merton College, where he stayed until 1930. He became a Lecturer at the London School of Economics. Rowse published about 100 books. He also became a celebrated author and much-travelled lecturer in the mid-20th century, especially in the United States. He also published many popular articles in newspapers and magazines in Great Britain and the United States. In 1963 Rowse began to concentrate on Shakespeare, starting with a biography in which he claimed to have dated all the sonnets. In 1973 he published Shakespeare the Man, in which he claimed to have solved the final problem the identity of the 'Dark Lady': from a close reading of the sonnets and the diaries of Simon Forman, he asserted that she must have been Emilia Lanier, whose poems he would later collect. He suggested that Shakespeare had been influenced by the feud between the Danvers and Long families in Wiltshire, when he wrote Romeo and Juliet. A.L. Rowse passed away on October 3, 1997. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Is contained in
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1950
- People/Characters
- Elizabeth I, Queen of England; Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury; William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley; Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester; James VI and I, King of Scots and King of England; Mary, Queen of Scots (show all 7); Sir Francis Walsingham
- Important places
- England; Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- Important events
- Elizabethan Era
- Dedication
- To the Warden and Fellows of All Souls College to whom I owe this book - and so much more
- First words
- The Elizabethan Age is not something dead and apart from us; it is alive and all round us and within us.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)For / What good is like to this / To do worthy the writing, and to write / Worthy the reading, and the world's delight?
Classifications
- Genres
- History, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality
- DDC/MDS
- 942.055 — History & geography History of Europe England and Wales England 1485-1603, Tudors 1558-1603, Elizabeth I
- LCC
- DA356 .R65 — History of Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania Great Britain History of Great Britain England History By period Modern, 1485- Tudors, 1485-1603 Elizabeth I, 1558-1603. Elizabethan age
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 281
- Popularity
- 115,375
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (4.04)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 23
