The No1 Ethical retailer for Books, CD’s, DVD’s & Games
30 Day Refund Guarantee

Burghley: William Cecil at the Court of Elizabeth I

Burghley: William Cecil at the Court of Elizabeth I

by StephenAlford (Author)

  • New

    Paperback 2011

    $22.26
Synopsis

William Cecil, Lord Burghley (1520-1598), was the closest adviser to England's Queen Elizabeth I and-as this revealing and provocative biography shows-he was the driving force behind the Queen's reign for four decades. Cecil's impact on the development of the English state was deep and personal. A committed Protestant, he guided domestic and foreign affairs with the confidence of his religious conviction. Believing himself the divinely instigated protector of his monarch, he felt able to disobey her direct commands. He was uncompromising, obsessive, and supremely self-assured-a cunning politician as well as a consummate servant. This comprehensive biography gives proper weight to Cecil's formative years, his subtle navigation of the reigns of Edward VI and Mary I, his lifelong enmity with Mary Queen of Scots, and his obsession with family dynasty. It also provides a fresh account of Elizabeth I and her reign, uncovering limitations and concerns about invasions, succession, and conspiracy. Intimate, authoritative, and enormously readable, this book redefines our understanding of the Elizabethan period.

$22.26

Quantity

20+ in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
 Pages: 432
 Edition: Reprint
 Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 01 Feb 2011
ISBN 10: 0300170882
ISBN 13: 9780300170887

Media Reviews
'An excellent biography... Alford writes with clarity and pace... and offers a wonderfully rich description of Lord Burghley's material world: the maps and plans decorating his walls, the mutton and quails and calves' feet that streamed out of his kitchens, and the busts of the Emperor Charles V and Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent that watched over the courtyard of Burghley House.' (J. P. D. Cooper, Times Literary Supplement) 'Alford has the biographer's natural sympathy for his subject and so does the reader of this engaging book.' (Robert C. Braddock, Renaissance Quarterly) 'Written by a master of the source material who has a feel for the nature of the Tudor Court and writes with balance and sympathy.' (Diarmaid MacCulloch, University of Oxford)
Author Bio
Stephen Alford was educated at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, and is Fellow in History at King's College, Cambridge. He is the author of Kingship and Politics in the Reign of Edward VI and The Early Elizabethan Polity. He lives in Northumberland, UK.