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Home / Periods / Tudor Period / Elizabethan Age

Period

Elizabethan Age

1558–1603 CE

The Elizabethan Age began when Elizabeth I inherited the throne in 1558. Her reign combined religious settlement, unmarried queenship, factional court politics, maritime expansion, poor relief, theatre and conflict with Catholic powers. It became one of the most culturally remembered phases of Tudor history.

The age mattered because Elizabeth’s government stabilised Protestant rule while facing plots, rebellion and foreign threat. England’s rivalry with Spain intensified, Ireland became increasingly militarised, and London’s literary culture flourished. The queen’s image became a political tool as well as a personal identity.

Elizabethan fiction includes S. J. Parris’s Giordano Bruno mysteries, Rory Clements’s John Shakespeare series, Patricia Finney’s novels, and many works about Elizabeth, Mary Queen of Scots and the theatre world. It suits spy fiction, court intrigue, recusant households, playwrights, sailors and agents working in the shadow of the queen.

Related people for Elizabethan Age

Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoudb. 1558 Ahmad al-Mansur1549–1603 Amy Robsart1532–1560 Anne Boleyn1501–1536 Anne of Cleves1515–1557 Anthony Babington1561–1586 Arabella Stuart1575–1615 Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus1489–1557 Bess of Hardwick1527–1608 Bess Throckmorton1565–c. 1647 Boris Godunov1552–1605 Catherine Carey1523–1569 Catherine de’ Medici1519–1589 Catherine Howard1523–1542 Catherine of Aragon1485–1536 Catherine Parr1512–1548 Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham1536–1624 Charles II of England1630–1685 Charles I of England1600–1649 Edmund Spenserc. 1552–1599 Edward VI1537–1553 Elizabeth I1533–1603 Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk1517–1559 Frances Walsinghamc. 1567–1633 Francis, Duke of Guise1519–1563 Francis Drake1540–1596 Francis II of France1544–1560 Francis Knollys1514–1596 Francis Walsingham1532–1590 George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury1528–1590 Giordano Bruno1548–1600 Helena Snakenborg1548/1549–1635 Henry VII1457–1509 Henry VIII1491–1547 Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone1540–1616 James IV1473–1513 James V1512–1542 James VI and I1566–1625 Jane Seymour1508–1537 Jeanne d’Albret1528–1572 John Dee1527–1609 John Lumley, 1st Baron Lumleyc. 1533–1609 Katherine Grey1540–1568 Lady Jane Grey1537–1554 Lettice Knollys1543–1634 Lord Guildford Dudley1535–1554 Lord Thomas Howard1511–1537 Louise of Savoy1476–1531 Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox1515–1578 Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy1480–1530 Margaret Tudor1489–1541 Marguerite de Navarre1492–1549 Martin Frobisher1535–1594 Mary, Queen of Scots1542–1587 Mary Boleyn1499–1543 Mary Grey1545–1578 Mary I1516–1558 Mary of Guise1515–1560 Mary Setonc. 1542–1615 Oliver Cromwell1599–1658 Penelope Rich, Lady Rich1563–1607 Philip II of Spain1527–1598 Philip Sidney1554–1586 Pope Pius V1504–1572 Richard Bancroft1544–1610 Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury1563–1612 Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex1565–1601 Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester1532–1588 Roderigo Lópezc. 1525–1594 Thomas Cranmer1489–1556 Thomas Cromwell1485–1540 Thomas Gorges1536–1610 Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk1473–1554 Thomas Kyd1558–1594 Thomas More1478–1535 Thomas Wolsey1473–1530 Walter Raleigh1552–1618 William Careyc. 1490s–1528 William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley1520–1598 William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton1513–1571 William Shakespeare1564–1616 William Stafford1508–1556

Series

Series about Elizabethan Age (6 series)

The Thomas the Falconer Mysteries in Order

by John Pilkington 7 books 4.4(24,286)

The Thomas the Falconer Mysteries follow Thomas Finbow, falconer to a Berkshire knight, through seven investigations in the late reign of Elizabeth I. Thomas is neither nobleman nor professional officer: his authority comes from service, experience and the habits of a hunter trained to read small signs before…

Giordano Bruno Novels in Order

by S. J. Parris 10 books 4.3(46,581)

The Giordano Bruno novels follow the historical Italian philosopher through a fictional career as investigator and intelligence agent. Beginning with his youth in Dominican Naples and continuing through exile in Elizabethan England, France and Prague, the series combines murder mysteries with Reformation conflict, court politics, espionage and Renaissance…

John Shakespeare in Order

by Rory Clements 7 books 4.3(27,584)

The John Shakespeare series follows an Elizabethan intelligencer working first for Francis Walsingham and later Robert Cecil. Murder investigations become inseparable from Catholic conspiracies, war with Spain, court faction and the developing machinery of state surveillance. Set between 1582 and the mid-1590s, the novels move through London, recusant…

The Lacey Chronicles in Order

by Eve Edwards 3 books 4.3(103)

The Lacey Chronicles follows members and associates of the Lacey family through three connected romances set between 1582 and 1586. William Lacey inherits the title and debts of the Earl of Dorset; his brother James seeks redemption through service and Atlantic exploration; and their illegitimate half-brother Kit attempts…

Elizabeth I Novels in Order

by Alison Weir 2 books 4.0(28,832)

These two connected novels follow Elizabeth I from childhood to the end of her reign. The Lady Elizabeth portrays the insecurity, scandal and religious danger that formed the future queen, while The Marriage Game explores her rule through the long relationship with Robert Dudley and the political use…

Kit Marlowe Mysteries in Order

11 books 3.9(1,260)

The Kit Marlowe mysteries follow Christopher Marlowe from Cambridge student to playwright, intelligence operative and reluctant investigator in Elizabethan England. Trow places Marlowe’s documented education, theatrical career and association with government service inside murder plots involving universities, religious division, court politics and the clandestine world surrounding Francis Walsingham’s…

Books

30 Best Novels About the Elizabethan Age

Non-Fiction

25 Best Non-Fiction Books About the Elizabethan Age

Histories, biographies and reference works are listed separately from the historical novels above.