Jennifer Loach’s biography, completed after her death, reassesses the short reign of Edward VI without treating the young king as a passive symbol of Protestant reform. It follows the accession of Henry VIII’s nine-year-old heir and the protectorates of Somerset and Northumberland amid war, inflation, rebellion and intense religious change.
The book examines Edward’s education, developing convictions and increasing participation in government. Loach also analyses the radical Reformation settlement, the political destruction of leading ministers and the attempt to exclude Mary and Elizabeth through the devise for the succession, showing how much was compressed into six turbulent years.
Alison Weir
35 books
Linda Porter
Antonia Fraser
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Peter Ackroyd
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