This is the first of a new series of books that will tell the history of early modern England from the perspective of those living at the time. Norman Jones' fascinating account details both the individual preoccupations (such as illness and famine) and the larger historical changes (such as fears over the succession and the establishment of Protestantism) which dominated life during the 1560s.

The Elizabethan era was a time of Shakespeare, the English Renaissance, pirates in the Caribbean, and the majestic glory of Queen Elizabeth. It was also a time of plague, poverty, and religious revolution. Elizabethan England explores the good and bad of a nation transformed, from the pomp of the royal court to daily life in London and exciting naval battles on the high seas.

Uses the rare depictions of musical instruments and musical sources found on the Eglantine Table to understand the musical life of the Elizabethan age and its connection to aspects of culture now treated as separate disciplines ofhistorical study.

This book offers an experiential perspective on the lives of Elizabethans—how they worked, ate, and played—with hands-on examples that include authentic music, recipes, and games of the period. Daily Life in Elizabethan England: Second Edition offers a fresh look at Elizabethan life from the perspective of the people who actually lived it. With an abundance of updates based on the most current research, this second edition provides an engaging—and sometimes surprising—picture of what it was like to live during this distant time. Readers will learn, for example, that Elizabethans were diligent recyclers, composting kitchen waste and collecting old rags for papermaking. They will discover that Elizabethans averaged less than 2 inches shorter than their modern British counterparts, and, in a surprising echo of our own age, that many Elizabethan city dwellers relied on carryout meals—albeit because they lacked kitchen facilities. What further sets the book apart is its "hands-on" approach to the past with the inclusion of actual music, games, recipes, and clothing patterns based on primary sources.

In this Elizabethan exploration, Wilson follows the stories of privateer Francis Drake, political intriguers like William Cecil and Francis Walsingham; and Renaissance literary geniuses from Sir Philip Sidney to Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare.