A decent overview of the Elizabethan era and the many historical figures it encompassed. Still, a few things bothered me about this book. The author makes a passing comment about the start of the Dutch Revolt coinciding with the onset of menopause in Queen Elizabeth I and possibly impacting her decisions (or lack thereof), before going on to say that the situation would have challenged any monarch, regardless of gender. Why then, was the comment necessary to put in print at all? Later on in the book, the author states as fact that Henry VIII had syphilis when actually this is highly debated by scholars and it's virtually impossible to definitively diagnosis any disease at a five-century remove. These kinds of statements made me wary of using this book to absorb too much new information from the text, although I was intrigued by the author's connection between the Elizabethan era and more recent conflicts in Ireland. ( )

The Elizabethans provides a broad overview of the Elizabethan period discussing politics, religion, literature and music. The book concludes with an essay on Hamlet explaining how the play was tied into the period.

The book is more suitable for readers who are already familiar with the period since the author tends to splatter names of obscure people and events across each page. ( )

A good overview of the period which Wilson brings to life in his own inimitable style. Wilson explores the political, religious and economic factors of the period and how these impacted on the cultural, scientific and other developments of the period. His analysis of Elizabeth's unmarried state is interesting and insightful. An excellent read. ( )