LENA COWEN ORLIN is Professor of English at Georgetown University, USA, Washington DC, and Executive Director of the Shakespeare Association of America. She is the author of Locating Privacy in Tudor London (2007) and Private Matters and Public Culture in Post- Reformation England (1994), editor of Material London, ca. 1600 (2000), and co-editor of Shakespeare: An Oxford Guide (2003).

'Professor Orlin possesses an enviable intellectual sharpness and breadth, an understanding of her audience, and a scholarly acumen. The book covers everything a reader could conceivably want to know about early modern England - religion, the family, philosophy, high culture, trade, everyday life and more. I find it impossible to imagine who could fail to learn from this volume.' - Professor Andrew Hadfield, Head of English, University of Sussex

• IntroductionKey Historical EventsSociety, Economy and ClassFamilies, Gender and SexualityReligion and BeliefPhilosophy and IdeasHigh CultureEveryday Life and Popular CultureLiterary Production and ReceptionTrade and ExplorationScience and MedicineFurther Reading.