The Elizabethan Renaissance: The Cultural Achievement

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, Shakespeare, Nonfiction, Tudor Period

428 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

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

[John Ollerton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A L Rowse is a giant of history but very opinionated and there is a pomposity in the book, also he expects a level of background knowledge in as much as he drops in a character but does not explain who the person is. Some great insights though such as who Miss Moffet was or the intransigence of the Jesuits versus the secular Catholic clergy.

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Literature section: dense but interesting.

Music section: too long! Too many madrigals.