The Elizabethan Renaissance: The Life of the Society

by A.L. Rowse

Back in print in a new paperback edition are these two volumes by A.L. Rowse that represent one of the great historical works of our time. They are a master historian's exploration of the social and cultural history of the Elizabethan Age. In The Life of the Society , Mr. Rowse surveys the life of each class of Englishmen from the Court downward, and presents a remarkable portrait of Elizabethan life and of the mentality, conscious and unconscious, to which the way of life gave rise. He portrays the life of the body as well as the life of the mind, including food and sanitation, sports and clothing, customs and beliefs, witchcraft and astrology―even the sex life of Elizabethans. In The Cultural Achievement he chronicles the astonishingly rich cultural flowering that marked the reign of Elizabeth I. He brings vividly to life the age's poetry, music, science, painting, sculpture, minor arts, and, above all, the tightly knit world of the theatre. Abundantly illustrated, together these volumes offer a richly rewarding reading experience.
"The book is so tightly packed with fascinating facts and fresh material that anyone at all seriously interested in Elizabethan England should delight in it."― New York Times .
" The Elizabethan Renaissance is created in such brilliant color and clarity that the reader can never forget it."―Irving Stone.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Tudor Period, British Literature, Elizabethan Period, Renaissance, Reference

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Alfred Leslie Rowse, CH FBA, known professionally as A. L. Rowse and to his friends and family as Leslie, was a prolific Cornish historian. He is perhaps best known for his poetry about Cornwall and his work on Elizabethan England. He was also a Shakespearean scholar and biographer. He developed a widespread reputation for irascibility and intellectual arrogance.

One of Rowse's great enthusiasms was collecting books, and he owned many first editions, many of them bearing his acerbic annotations. For example, his copy of the January 1924 edition of The Adelphi magazine edited by John Middleton Murry bears a pencilled note after Murry's poem In Memory of Katherine Mansfield: 'Sentimental gush on the part of JMM. And a bad poem. A.L.R.'

Upon his death in 1997 he bequeathed his book collection to the University of Exeter, and his personal archive of manuscripts, diaries, and correspondence. In 1998 the University Librarian selected about sixty books from Rowse’s own working library and a complete set of his published books. The Royal Institution of Cornwall selected some of the remaining books, and the rest were sold to dealers.

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one volume of a trilogy about the Elizabethan period. I have not read the other two yet.

Rowse is knowledgeable and very opinionated, decrying the work of such notables as Trevor-Roper as regards witch hunting (which Rowse finds to be much exaggerated) and inserting his own opinions about current, related trends, often couched in dark humor. This is a work of his later life, reflective of his mature conservatism, he having been a Labourite during his youth. A such, he makes a number of pointed remarks about welfarism.

As regards his topic, however, namely the culture of Elizabethan England, Rowse appears to be on top of the material. To his credit and to the readers' benefits, he modernizes the sixteenth and seventeenth texts he cites. He also, thankfully, appreciates the changes brought about in the period covered and the person of the queen. Otherwise, he's generally a misanthrope.

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat meandering, in that I never knew where the book was headed, but the ride itself was fun.

In the last chapter, he really has the knives out for H.R. Trevor-Roper, which I found interesting. (This book was written in the 1960s; Trevor-Roper's reputation never recovered after he "authenticated" the so-called Hitler Diaries in the 1980s.)

[David Withun · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Philip Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

This man does not care what he says. If he thinks you are an idiot he will say it. Highly refreshing and enlightening.

[Anthony]

Do you like history? if so, this book is for you! This book is so tightly packed with stories from different Elizabethans who lived in England during the renaissance with different topics in each chapter. This book was a lot for me personally, but I did enjoy reading through it. It was definitely very different from what I usually read but I liked it. I would recommend this book to readers who like history and love tightly packed books with lots of details.

[Tanis · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a horrible man A L Rowse was, that's the main thing you learn from this rambling old fashioned and rather boring book. There are a few interesting parts but it's ruined by all the racism and homophobia. The rest of the time he's making cheap snide remarks about ' the idiot public' and other historians, looks to me like he might be bitter because perhaps those other historians are likeable.

[Kareninfolsom · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this very dry.

[Redsteve · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has some good stuff on the period, but the author seems very old fashioned for 1971 (when the book was originally published). His writing is not especially readable (very dry and erratically organized) and he keeps jumping on his anti-Catholic/pro-Reformation hobbyhorse at the slightest provocation.

He also produces such gems as: "Compared with the immense receipts and outcomings of such an estate, taxation was derisory: it was this that enabled the Elizabethans to build palaces and fill them with objects of art and beauty, in contrast with the waste of a welfare state on consumption without significance, without beauty or taste, or of any lasting value." Ouch!

"Bastardy, too, had some social utility: it was apt to be improving to looks and upgrading to stocks."

Rowse refers to "Winchester Geese" as slang for venereal sores. Dummy. It's slang for prostitutes - short for "The Bishop of Winchester's Geese": originally, licensed prostitutes that worked out of Southbank, in the Bishopric of Winchester.

[Albie]

The Elizabethan Renaissance: The Life of the Society by Alfred Leslie Rowse (2000)