The story of a recently discovered portrait of a young William Shakespeare traces its origins and history to discuss how it came into being, its possession by the same family for more than four hundred years, the painstaking forensic study that confirmed its age, and the plausibility of its authenticity. 20,000 first printing.

Product Description: This is the first full-length study of English Civic Portraiture (portraits of mayors, aldermen, colleges and school heads, livery company masters etc) and the first to consider such portraiture as a form of civic or political discourse in early modern England...read more

Product Description: A Companion to Tudor Britain provides an authoritative overview of historical debates about this period, focusing on the whole British Isles.An authoritative overview of scholarly debates about Tudor BritainFocuses on the whole British Isles, exploring what was common and what was distinct to its four constituent elementsEmphasises big cultural, social, intellectual, religious and economic themesDescribes differing political and personal experiences of the timeDiscusses unusual subjects, such as the sense of the past amongst British constituent identities, the relationship of cultural forms to social and political issues, and the role of scientific inquiryBibliographies point readers to further sources of informatio...read more

Product Description: The century bounded by the Henrician Reformation and the Civil Wars marked an important stage in the development of urban institutions, culture, and society in England. At the outset of this period, England was still very much an agrarian society; by its end, it was well on the way to becoming an urban one as well...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: This is an important new analysis of the secular impact of the Reformation on English towns. It shows how the transfer of property, coupled with new statutory responsibilities and the destruction of a doctrine-based political culture, enabled many towns to extend their holdings and increase their institutional authority...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: The town hall in early modern England was the seat of civic government and the architectural embodiment of power, authority, and legitimacy in the community. Tittler's imaginatively conceived and wide-ranging study, based on extensive research in local record, explores the town hall and its role in civic culture and urban life...read more

Product Description: In this study, Robert Tittler, an expert in Marian research, provides an important reappraisal of Mary's reign - often written off as a failure. He considers whether her reign can be so easily dismissed as an unproductive interruption of the Tudor dynasty, or whether Mary's reign played a more distinctive part in this period of history...read more