1 Introduction
-
Susan Doran
Abstract
The Introduction explains the nature of the late Elizabethan succession question. It clarifies the obstacles encountered by the closest hereditary heir James VI of Scotland and outlines the range of other claimants and their backers. It then examines the historiography of the succession issue before and after Mary Stuart’s execution with reference to new trends such as the New Catholic, New British, and New Political History, identifying problems and omissions and mapping out new directions for research. The Introduction concludes by highlighting longer-term significances of the constitutional issues discussed in the book.
Abstract
The Introduction explains the nature of the late Elizabethan succession question. It clarifies the obstacles encountered by the closest hereditary heir James VI of Scotland and outlines the range of other claimants and their backers. It then examines the historiography of the succession issue before and after Mary Stuart’s execution with reference to new trends such as the New Catholic, New British, and New Political History, identifying problems and omissions and mapping out new directions for research. The Introduction concludes by highlighting longer-term significances of the constitutional issues discussed in the book.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I v
- Dedication vi
- Contents vii
- Notes on contributors ix
- Acknowledgements xii
- Abbreviations and conventions xiii
- Genealogical charts xiv
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Part I Contexts and approaches
- 1 Introduction 3
- 2 The earlier Elizabethan succession question revisited 20
-
Part II Religion and politics
- 3 The Puritan, the Jesuit and the Jacobean succession 47
- 4 Taking it to the street? 71
- 5 Bishop Richard Bancroft and the succession 92
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Part III The court
- 6 Essex and the ‘popish plot’ 115
- 7 The Scottish King and the English court 134
-
Part IV Imaginative writings and the wider public world
- 8 The succession in sermons, news and rumour 155
- 9 Hamlet and succession 173
- 10 The poetics of succession, 1587–1605 192
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Part V Britain and beyond
- 11 Polemic and prejudice 215
- 12 Brinkmanship and bad luck 236
- 13 A view from abroad 257
- 14 States, monarchs and dynastic transitions 276
- Afterword 295
- Select bibliography 304
- Index 314
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I v
- Dedication vi
- Contents vii
- Notes on contributors ix
- Acknowledgements xii
- Abbreviations and conventions xiii
- Genealogical charts xiv
-
Part I Contexts and approaches
- 1 Introduction 3
- 2 The earlier Elizabethan succession question revisited 20
-
Part II Religion and politics
- 3 The Puritan, the Jesuit and the Jacobean succession 47
- 4 Taking it to the street? 71
- 5 Bishop Richard Bancroft and the succession 92
-
Part III The court
- 6 Essex and the ‘popish plot’ 115
- 7 The Scottish King and the English court 134
-
Part IV Imaginative writings and the wider public world
- 8 The succession in sermons, news and rumour 155
- 9 Hamlet and succession 173
- 10 The poetics of succession, 1587–1605 192
-
Part V Britain and beyond
- 11 Polemic and prejudice 215
- 12 Brinkmanship and bad luck 236
- 13 A view from abroad 257
- 14 States, monarchs and dynastic transitions 276
- Afterword 295
- Select bibliography 304
- Index 314
