Birth, Marriage, and Death: Ritual, Religion, and the Life Cycle in Tudor and Stuart England
Both Cressy (Religion and Society in Early Modern England, Routledge, 1996) and Morrill (editor of The Birth of the Elizabethan Age, Blackwell, 1993) provide current scholarly insights into early modern England. Cressy writes for the specialist, while Morrill writes for the educated reader. Cressy's study of the life cycle in Tudor-Stuart England should be read by all serious students of the period interested in history from the bottom up. This work remains entertaining while depicting the pace of social change in the ordinary activities of real people and the divisive social issues that caused conflict among the 16th- and 17th-century English. Cressy provides solid evidence of the key importance ritual played as society coped with implementing the Reformation, and he demonstrates his scholarly depth by a judicious recognition of the diversity of experiences and viewpoints found in early modern England. Morrill has assembled an impressive list of scholars to provide both a chronological and a topical overview of the period. To broaden his work's appeal, he includes a high-quality collection of color plates and appropriate maps; he also offers useful study helps in his chronology, glossary, and in-depth bibliography. Recommended for academic reading and reference collections in liberal arts colleges.?Susan A. Stussy, Kansas City, Kan.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.