Elizabethans A History Of How Modern Britain Was Forged

The Sunday Times bestseller Now a major BBC TV series presented by Andrew Marr

In a brilliantly entertaining, living history of the modern United Kingdom, Andrew Marr traces how radically we have transformed through the course of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. When the Queen stepped up her crown in 1953 at the age of twenty-five, Britain was a very different nation. In this vital history, bestselling author Andrew Marr tells the story of modern Britain through the people who shaped it: from Sylvia Plath to Elvis Costello, Frank Critchlow to Bob Geldof, Zaha Hadid to James Dyson, David Attenborough to the Beatles. How did our activists, our innovators, our artists, our every-kind-of-mover-and-shaker define and progress this new Elizabethan era over the last seven decades? How did the seventies shape the eighties, shape the nineties to incrementally land us where we are today? And where exactly is that?

Now back in print, this comprehensive collection of essays by Simon Adams brings to life the most enigmatic of Elizabethans--Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Adams, famous for the unique depth and breadth of his research, has gathered here his most important essays looking at the Elizabethan Court, and the adventures and legacy of the Earl.Together with his edition of Leicester's accounts and his reconstruction of Leicester's papers, Adams has published much upon on Leicester's influence and activities. His work has reshaped our knowledge of Elizabeth and her Court, Parliament, and such subjects of recent debate as the power of the nobility and the noble affinity, the politics of faction and the role of patronage. Sixteen essays are found in this collection, organized into three groups: the Court, Leicester and his affinity, and Leicester and the regions. This volume will be essential reading for academics and students interested in the Elizabethan Court and in early modern British politics more generally.

During the 45-year reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England, her country became a world power and underwent a renaissance in music, architecture, literature and drama. At the same time, England's military victories and bold explorations laid the foundations of the British Empire.

The age of Elizabeth I continues to exercise a fascination unmatched by other periods of English history. Yet while the leading figures may seem familiar, many Elizabethan figures, including the queen herself, remain enigmatic. In Elizabethans Patrick Collinson examines the religious beliefs both of Elizabeth and of Shakespeare, as well as redrawing the main features of the political and religious structure of the reign. He understands the characters of the period as individuals but is also sensitive to the attitudes and beliefs of the day.

Decades tend to crest halfway through, and 1995 was the year of the Nineties: peak Britpop (Oasis v Blur), peak YBA (Tracey Emin's tent), peak New Lad (when Nick Hornby published High Fidelity, when James Brown's Loaded detonated the publishing industry, and when pubs were finally allowed to stay open on a Sunday). It was the year of The Bends, the year Danny Boyle started filming Trainspotting, the year Richey Edwards went missing, the year Alex Garland wrote The Beach, the year Blair changed Clause IV after a controversial vote at the Labour Conference. Not only was the mid-Nineties perhaps the last time that rock stars, music journalists and pop consumers held onto a belief in rock's mystical power, it was a period of huge cultural upheaval - in art, literature, publishing and drugs. And it was a period of almost unparalleled hedonism, a time when many people thought they deserved to live the rock and roll lifestyle, when a generation of narcotic omnivores thought they could all be rock stars just by buying a magazine and a copy of (What's the Story) Morning Glory? Faster Than a Cannonball is a cultural swipe of the decade from loungecore to the rise of New Labour, teasing all the relevant artistic strands through interviews with all the major protagonists and exhaustive re-evaluations of the important records of the year - The Bends by Radiohead, Grand Prix by Teenage Fanclub, Maxinquaye by Tricky, Different Class by Pulp, The Great Escape by Blur, It's Great When You're Straight... Yeah! by Black Grape, Exit Planet Dust by the Chemical Brothers, I Should Coco by Supergrass, Elastica by Elastica, Pure Phase by Spiritualized, ...I Care Because You Do by Aphex Twin and of course (What's the Story) Morning Glory by Oasis, the most iconic album of the decade.

The fallout from Brexit and Covid-19, ongoing political turmoil, economic decline and calls for a second Scottish independence referendum make for deeply uncertain times in contemporary Britain. What will the country look like in five years from now? Will it even exist in its present form? Introducing you to all aspects of British history, geography, society, politics, economy and culture, this book guides you through the country's enduring features and recent trends: -Growing racial, religious, national and cultural diversity -Demographic shifts, including the move from a welfare state to a stakeholder society -The altered balance of power among government institutions, as the UK adapts to life outside the EU -Shifts in economic policy, following the impact of Brexit, Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine -Changing voter attitudes, with questions raised about the balance between the major political parties -The impact of social media and alternative communications channels on media, culture and politics. With key data, further reading suggestions and case studies on topics such as attitudes towards the monarchy, regional inequalities and national cuisine, Contemporary Britain is the ideal introduction for students and interested general readers alike.

LIFE. SEX. RACE. POWER. FREE SPEECH. PROTEST. PRIVACY. DEMOCRACY. SOVEREIGNTY. DEATH. Society shapes law... and law shapes society. We like to imagine that progress comes about when Parliament spots a looming groundswell in public opinion and responds by changing the laws that govern our daily lives. This is not always true. In this fascinating book, Inigo Bing unravels ten legal cases in which the decisions of judges or a jury either heralded a shift in outlook or forced Parliament to respond to simmering social change. Some of these cases demonstrate the role judges have in defending our civil liberties against overweening executive power, articulating inherent unwritten rights Parliament would prefer to keep quiet about. Others explore what happens when rapid technological or social change outpaces government, placing urgent ethical dilemmas in the lap of the court. All of them have had a lasting impact on the society we inhabit. Taken together, these stories provide a powerful insight into eighty years of British social, political and cultural history, illustrating why legal cases are just as important to making our world as laws written by Parliament or grassroots changes within society.