A Social History of England, 1500–1750

Cambridge University Press, 2/23/2017
EAN 9781107041790, ISBN10: 1107041791

Hardcover, 454 pages, 23.5 x 15.2 x 2.5 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English

The rise of social history has had a transforming influence on the history of early modern England. It has broadened the historical agenda to include many previously little-studied, or wholly neglected, dimensions of the English past. It has also provided a fuller context for understanding more established themes in the political, religious, economic and intellectual histories of the period. This volume serves two main purposes. Firstly, it summarises, in an accessible way, the principal findings of forty years of research on English society in this period, providing a comprehensive overview of social and cultural change in an era vital to the development of English social identities. Second, the chapters, by leading experts, also stimulate fresh thinking by not only taking stock of current knowledge but also extending it, identifying problems, proposing fresh interpretations and pointing to unexplored possibilities. It will be essential reading for students, teachers and general readers.

Introduction
framing early modern England Keith Wrightson
Part I. Discovering the English
1. Crafting the nation Cathy Shrank
2. Surveying the people Paul Griffiths
3. Little commonwealths I
the household and family relationships Linda Pollock
4. Little commonwealths II
communities Malcolm Gaskill
Part II. Currents of Change
5. Reformations Alec Ryrie
6. Words, words, words
education, literacy and print Adam Fox
7. Land and people Jane Whittle
8. Urbanization Phil Withington
9. The people and the law Tim Stretton
10. Authority and protest John Walter
11. Consumption and material culture Adrian Green
Part III. Social Identities
12. 'Gentlemen'
re-making the English ruling class Henry French
13. The 'middling sort'
an emergent cultural identity Craig Muldrew
14. The 'meaner sort'
labouring people and the poor Jeremy Boulton
15. Gender, the body and sexuality Alexandra Shepard
16. The English and 'others' in England and beyond Alison Games
Coda
history, time and social memory Andy Wood.