J. F. Merritt – författare

The 120 years that separate the first publication of John Stow's famous Survey of London in 1598 from John Strype's enormous new edition of the same work in 1720 witnessed London's transformation into a sprawling augustan metropolis, very different from the compact medieval city so lovingly charted in the pages of Stow. Imagining Early Modern London takes Stow's classic account of the Elizabethan city as a starting point for an examination of how generations of very different Londoners - men and women, antiquaries, merchants, skilled craftsmen, labourers and beggars - experienced and understood the dramatically changing city. A series of interdisciplinary essays explore the ways in which Londoners interpreted and memorialized their past: how individuals located themselves mentally, socially and geographically within the city, and how far the capital's growth was believed to have a moral influence upon its inhabitants.

This collection of essays re-examines the historical debates of the early Stuart period from a fresh vantage point: the career of Thomas Wentworth, first Earl of Strafford. Wentworth played a crucial role in virtually every disputed policy and debate of the 1620s and 1630s. A noted 'country' parliamentarian, then a Privy Councillor and President of the Council in the North, a controversial Lord Deputy of Ireland and a close ally of Archbishop Laud - Wentworth's career encapsulates many of the paradoxes and tensions in early Stuart politics. This collection boasts a series of major articles by some of the most prominent historians currently active in seventeenth-century political history. The essays explore the nature of the political world under Charles I through Wentworth's career, challenging some of the categories and presuppositions which characterise recent work on the pre-Civil War period.

This collection of essays re-examines the historical debates of the early Stuart period from a fresh vantage point: the career of Thomas Wentworth, first Earl of Strafford. Wentworth played a crucial role in virtually every disputed policy and debate of the 1620s and 1630s. A noted 'country' parliamentarian, then a Privy Councillor and President of the Council in the North, a controversial Lord Deputy of Ireland and a close ally of Archbishop Laud - Wentworth's career encapsulates many of the paradoxes and tensions in early Stuart politics. This collection boasts a series of major articles by some of the most prominent historians currently active in seventeenth-century political history. The essays explore the nature of the political world under Charles I through Wentworth's career, challenging some of the categories and presuppositions which characterise recent work on the pre-Civil War period.

The 120 years that separate the first publication of John Stow's famous Survey of London in 1598 from John Strype's enormous new edition of the same work in 1720 witnessed London's transformation into a sprawling augustan metropolis, very different from the compact medieval city so lovingly charted in the pages of Stow. Imagining Early Modern London takes Stow's classic account of the Elizabethan city as a starting point for an examination of how generations of very different Londoners - men and women, antiquaries, merchants, skilled craftsmen, labourers and beggars - experienced and understood the dramatically changing city. A series of interdisciplinary essays explore the ways in which Londoners interpreted and memorialized their past: how individuals located themselves mentally, socially and geographically within the city, and how far the capital's growth was believed to have a moral influence upon its inhabitants.

Early modern Westminster is familiar as the location of the Royal Court at Whitehall, parliament, the law courts and the emerging West End, yet it has never been studied in its own right. This book is the first study to provide an integrated picture of the town during this crucial period in its history. It reveals the often problematic relations between the diverse groups of people who constituted local society – the Court, the aristocracy, the Abbey, the middling sort and the poor – and the competing visions of Westminster’s identity which their presence engendered.Different chapters study the impact of the Reformation and of the building of Whitehall Palace; the problem of poverty and the politics of communal responsibility; the character and significance of the increasing gentry presence in the town; the nature and ideology of local governing elites; the struggles over the emerging townscape; and the changing religious culture of the area, including the problematic role of the post-Reformation Abbey.A comprehensive study of one of the most populous and influential towns in early modern England, this book covers the entire period from the Reformation to the Civil War. It will make fascinating reading for historians of English society, literature and religion in this period, as well as enthusiasts of London’s rich history.

This book is the first study to provide an integrated picture of Westminster during this crucial period in its history. It reveals the often problematic relations between the diverse groups of people who constituted local society – the Court, the aristocracy, the Abbey, the middling sort and the poor – and the competing visions of Westminster’s identity which their presence engendered.Different chapters study the impact of the Reformation and of the building of Whitehall Palace; the problem of poverty and the politics of communal responsibility; the character and significance of the increasing gentry presence in the town; the nature and ideology of local governing elites; the struggles over the emerging townscape; and the changing religious culture of the area, including the problematic role of the post-Reformation Abbey.A comprehensive study of one of the most populous and influential towns in early modern England, this book covers the entire period from the Reformation to the Civil War. It will make fascinating reading for historians of English society, literature and religion in this period, as well as enthusiasts of London’s rich history.