Representing Elizabeth in Stuart England: Literature, History, Sovereignty

by John Watkins

Overview

Examining Elizabeth I's lasting impact on the Anglo-American historical imagination, John Watkins traces the development of Elizabeth I's iconic significance in the political and popular imagination of the seventeenth century. From powerful monarch to the perfect model of the tragic individual pitted against a hostile social order, Elizabeth's story informs contemporary debates. This study appeals to literary and cultural historians alike.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521118965
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/03/2009
Pages:	282
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

John Watkins is Associate Professor of English at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. He is the author of The Specter of Dido: Spenser and Virgilian Epic (1995).

Table of Contents

List of illustrations; Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. James I and the fictions of Elizabeth's motherhood; 2. The Queen of royal citizens: Elizabeth in Thomas Heywood's historical imagination; 3. Arcana Reginae: Tacitean Narrations of the Elizabethan past; 4. Recollections of Elizabeth during the civil wars and interregnum; 5. Restoration Elizabeth; 6. 'Under the name of a Vergin or Maiden Queen'; 7. Gloriana's Secrets: the restoration invention of Elizabeth's private life; 8. After the revolution: Gloriana in late Stuart England; Conclusion.

Editorial Reviews

"Professor Watkins has produced a study that hopefully will inspire other scholars to explore the seemingly unending impact of Elizabeth I upon the generations born after 1603." Sixteenth Century Journal

"Watkins is a sensitive reader and interpreter of images..." The International Review of History

"...well-researched and interesting...The skillful use of a variety of sources makes this work useful and apppropriate for specialists in Tudor/Stuart England, as well as those just beginning to study Elizabeth I and her legacy. Watkins' interdisciplinary approach to his study will make this work attractive to early modern scholars across the curriculum." Albion

"Reading this book, one is immediately aware of being in the capable hands not only of an excellent scholar, but also of a stellar lecturer. The argument is consistently lucid, rendering this work valuable for not only the scholarly library, but equally for the classroom, a rare and commendable accomplishment." H-Albion

"This is a careful, provocative, and intelligent book." Renaissance Quarterly

"...this is a book that will have a wide impact in literary studies, but it wil also have to be read by historians of the period." Studies in English Literature

"Blending literary analysis with historiography, John Watkins analyzes the changing judgments of Elizabeth I during the century after her death in 1603...A readable, cogent study." History: Review of New Books

"The book smoothly addresses the interesting question of the appropriation of a queen's image...." Choice

From the Publisher