Reform & Reformation: England, 1509-1558

by G.R. Elton

1977 HARDCOVER w/DUST JACKET (Protected in Brodart)

Genres: History, Tudor Period

432 pages, Hardcover

First published January 26, 1977

About the author

Sir Geoffrey Rudolph Elton FBA (born Gottfried Rudolf Otto Ehrenberg) was a German-born British political and constitutional historian, specialising in the Tudor period. He taught at Clare College, Cambridge, and was the Regius Professor of Modern History there from 1983 to 1988.

An strong advocate of the primacy of political and administrative history, Elton was the pre-eminent Tudor historian of his day. He also made very significant contributions to the then current debate on the philosophy of historical practice, as well as having a powerful effect on the profession through, among other things, his presidency of the Royal Historical Society.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a classic and it’s easy to see why. Elton focuses on personalities at the center and really gets into their heads. It’s a traditional history rather than the newer ones that look at folks on the margins and study small elements of it rather than the top down approach of Elton and co. He does think of Cromwell as the resident genius—mostly for what he did to the state rather than religion. He definitely thinks the Reformation was popular even if it was orchestrated from on high.

[Mark Singer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A scholarly overview of the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Mary. This is not so much a biographical review, but more of a history of the English government and how it changed during this time. Elton makes a good case for the influence of Thomas Cromwell as a "Prime Minister".

[AskHistorians]

This argues that the Reformation in England was in fact a project of Cromwell, who used government to effect religious change in England.