Widely praised and consistently popular since its first publication in 1987, Early Modern England now reflects in this new edition the invigorating and substantial changes that have swept the field over the past decade and more. It combines consideration of more traditional concerns of social history with investigation of the newer items on the agenda of historians. The result is a masterly study, providing the only up-to-date interpretation available for the period.
Prologue - towards the days of shaking. Politics and society, 1550-1653. Part 1 Family, community and nation: population; family life; towns and villages; the national community and the problem of order. Part 2 The social hierarchy and social change: the economy - an overview; the landed orders; non-landed elites; the common people. Part 3 The spiritual and mental world: religion; education and literacy; culture, popular and elite; magic, witchcraft and natural philosophy. Epilogue - strife within stability.
