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Very Interesting People #6
Elizabeth I
Very definitive, very concise, and very interesting...
From William Shakespeare to Winston Churchill, the Very Interesting People series provides authoritative bite-sized biographies of Britain's most fascinating historical figures--people whose influence and importance have stood the test of time.
Each book in the series is based upon the biographical entry from the world-famous Oxford Dictionary of National Biography .
From William Shakespeare to Winston Churchill, the Very Interesting People series provides authoritative bite-sized biographies of Britain's most fascinating historical figures--people whose influence and importance have stood the test of time.
Each book in the series is based upon the biographical entry from the world-famous Oxford Dictionary of National Biography .
152 pages, Paperback
First published April 23, 2007
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About the author
Patrick Collinson
45 books10 followersProfessor Patrick Collinson was a distinguished and much published author in the field of early modern history. A Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge since 1988, he was Regius Professor of History at the University until 1996. He also held a number of academic distinctions, including Fellowship of the British Academy.
Collinson authored his 1957 doctorate on Elizabethan Puritanism under J. E. Neale, and was a lecturer at the University of Khartoum and King's College London. He was professor at the University of Sydney in 1969, then at the University of Kent at Canterbury and the University of Sheffield. His 1967 monograph, The Elizabethan Puritan Movement, had a great impact on historians' understanding of the movement. The work showed Puritanism to be a significant force within the Elizabethan Church instead of merely a radical group of individuals. By the time of his retirement in 1996, he was one of the doyens of English Reformation history. His short summation of the period, The Reformation, was published in 2003.
Collinson's work laid the foundations, in many ways, for what historians of the English Reformation currently term the 'Calvinist Consensus' in the latter decades of the sixteenth and reign of James I/VI. As such, the belief Puritanism was anything but religiously radical in relation to English, and indeed British, culture stands as one of his great achievements as an historian.
Collinson authored his 1957 doctorate on Elizabethan Puritanism under J. E. Neale, and was a lecturer at the University of Khartoum and King's College London. He was professor at the University of Sydney in 1969, then at the University of Kent at Canterbury and the University of Sheffield. His 1967 monograph, The Elizabethan Puritan Movement, had a great impact on historians' understanding of the movement. The work showed Puritanism to be a significant force within the Elizabethan Church instead of merely a radical group of individuals. By the time of his retirement in 1996, he was one of the doyens of English Reformation history. His short summation of the period, The Reformation, was published in 2003.
Collinson's work laid the foundations, in many ways, for what historians of the English Reformation currently term the 'Calvinist Consensus' in the latter decades of the sixteenth and reign of James I/VI. As such, the belief Puritanism was anything but religiously radical in relation to English, and indeed British, culture stands as one of his great achievements as an historian.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 9, 2011
From my perspective, Elizabeth I is a more interesting ruler than King Henry VIII in many ways. She inherited the religious schism brought about by Henry which affected her marriage prospects and tilted the power politics of the day between France, Spain, and England, and further complicated England's 'local' issues with Scotland and Ireland. Once again, anything you may have seen in a movie regarding Elizabeth the 1st is probably bogus or at best superficial. I find it truly frightening that many people today 'learn' history from watching movies. Their primary goal is to entertain for the sake of profit.
This small but well crafted book is an excellent way to gain some insight into the person and her times, and how the spin-misters of yesteryear and today have shaped our understanding of this most unique and fascinating woman.
This small but well crafted book is an excellent way to gain some insight into the person and her times, and how the spin-misters of yesteryear and today have shaped our understanding of this most unique and fascinating woman.
June 6, 2016
Semper eadem.
March 25, 2024
I haven't read much of this style of biography. I definitely have to be very interested in the subject to get through it. I enjoyed certain parts of this short biography and it makes me interested in learning more about Elizabeth and her time period.
The short history of the historical coverage of Elizabeth I in the last chapter is helpful to figure out where to go next.
The short history of the historical coverage of Elizabeth I in the last chapter is helpful to figure out where to go next.
December 31, 2021
For such an interesting person, this really killed it for me. It turned such fascinating subject matter into something pretty dry. It was too bare bones, and yet some of the missing detail would have provided some much needed context. Anyway ... meh
March 13, 2017
Had to read for class. If you have to read it I recommend knowing a lot of the background information during the Elizabethan time period before reading because the author writes assuming that the reader already knows it and just summarizes it.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews