Renaissance and Reformation Times

by Dorothy Mills

Renaissance & Reformation Times not only shows the essential meaning of the period, what brought about this great change in thought, and how it affected the outward experience of the peoples of Italy, Germany, Spain, France, and England, but also makes clear in what way it resembles the present. Dorothy Mills had an uncanny and unique ability to write history that is interesting and at the same time based on sound scholarship. Her direct, engaging approach is valued increasingly by the many parents in our day who are looking for reliable materials for homeschooling or home study, as well as by many private school educators. Angelico Press has undertaken to reprint the highly-prized six volumes of her historical works as part of its effort to offer texts ideally suited to the needs of a new generation of teachers and students. In a world where the quality of education has so deteriorated, may the reissue of this wonderful historical series shine as a beacon to a new generation of young (and not so young) scholars!

Genres: History, World History, Nonfiction

398 pages, Paperback

First published December 18, 1939

About the author

Agnes Dorothy Mills M.A. (1879 -1966) was an American historian and educator.

She graduated from the University of St. Andrews (LLA; 1915) & Columbia University (AM; Education; 1915). Miss Mills was a teacher of history & chairman of the department of history at the Brearley School in New York City.

Reviews

[Betsy Hoek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wide-ranging, well-organized, lively account of the period. Accessible to teens and advanced older children, but a pleasant read for adults as well. As the author was the head of the history department of a girls' school, she takes pains to include the female notables of the Renaissance and Reformation along with all the interesting men. If the book has a weakness, it is that she passes somewhat lightly over the theological points at issue during the Reformation. However, I believe this was in an effort to provide an even-handed account for a wide audience of various religious backgrounds. An enjoyable and educational read that my students this year are excited about* as well!
*I am not making this up. I can tell by the class discussions and the enthusiasm of the students' moms who are reading along. This is in a homeschool co-op.

[Lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a textbook, this was pretty good. Very old looking, but extremely informative, and not overly dry.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough, informative, and interesting tour of Europe from around the late 1300s to the early 1600s, although the style of the prose reveals the text's age.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generally, this book was good. There were a few instances where Mills did not understand the Lutheran side of the Reformation as Lutherans would, but it is a generally good book. Pages 166, 188, 209, 237, and 242 were all ones that I made notes in to discuss certain things with my students. I used Memoria Press's 2020 edition. This is a good book to use for high school students who are ready to discuss differences in theology between the author of a text, the persons they are writing about, and the reader. Not a book that I would hand to a teen without discussion, but a good book to read with your teen.

[Dan O’Neill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wonderful survey of a time period.