The Tudor period (1485 to 1603) marks in the minds of many the emergence of an English national identity. Defined by the totemic figure of the virgin queen - Elizabeth I - it witnessed the end of the dynastic uncertainties of the Wars of the Roses, the creation and triumph of the Anglican Church; the successful repulsion of foreign invaders and the beginnings of the adventure of empire; the blossoming of a sublimely gifted generation of musical composers, including Thomas Tallis and William Byrd; and the flowering of English poetry and drama, culminating in the glories of Ben Jonson, Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare. But it was also a period wracked by rebellion, invasion scares, sectarian strife, and - increasingly - by worries about dynastic succession. The Tudor Chronicles is a compelling, year-by-year chronology of this tumultuous and critical period in the development of the modern English nation.
Each year is covered by a concise, informative and accessible narrative, amplified by extensive quotations from contemporary sources and accompanied by generously captioned and stunning images of the period - including portraits, maps, illuminations, royal seals, tapestries and other artefacts. Authoritative, informative and sumptuous, and compiled by a scholar who is steeped in knowledge of the period, The Tudor Chronicles brings a glorious era of English history dramatically and vividly to life. It is the perfect gift book for anyone with a love of, or fascination for, 16th-century English history.