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.

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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.

A collection of some of the best, wittiest and most unusual excerpts from 16th- and 17th-century writing. "Shakespeare's England" brings to life the variety, the energy and the harsh reality of England at this time. Providing a portrait of the age, it includes extracts from a wide variety of writers, taken from books, plays, poems, letters, diaries and pamphlets by and about Shakespeare's contemporaries. These include William Harrison and Fynes Moryson (providing descriptions of England), Nicholas Breton (on country life), Isabella Whitney and Thomas Dekker (on London life), Nashe (on struggling writers), Stubbes (with a Puritan view of Elizabethan enjoyments), Harsnet and Burton (on witches and spirits), John Donne (meditations on prayer and death), King James I (on tobacco) and Shakespeare himself.

Exam board: OCR (Specification B, SHP) Level: GCSE (9-1) Subject: History First teaching: September 2016 First exams: Summer 2018 An OCR endorsed textbook Let SHP successfully steer you through the OCR B specification with an exciting, enquiry-based series, combining best practice teaching methods and worthwhile tasks to develop students' historical knowledge and skills. B” Tackle unfamiliar topics with confidence: /BThe engaging, accessible text covers the content you need for teacher-led lessons and independent studybrbrB” Ease the transition to GCSE: /BStep-by-step enquiries inspired by best practice in KS3 help to simplify lesson planning and ensure continuous progression within and across unitsbrbrB” Build the knowledge and understanding that students need to succeed: /BThe scaffolded three-part task structure enables students to record, reflect on and review their learningbrbrB” Boost student performance: /BSuitably challenging tasks encourage high achievers to excel at GCSE while clear explanations make key concepts accessible to allbrbrB” Rediscover your enthusiasm for source work: