Part I: Contexts and approaches1. Introduction: A historiographical perspective – Susan Doran and Paulina Kewes2. The earlier Elizabethan succession question revisited – Susan Doran and Paulina KewesPart II: Religion and politics3. The Puritan, the Jesuit and the Jacobean succession – Paulina Kewes4. Taking it to the street? The Archpriest controversy and the issue of the succession – Peter Lake and Michael Questier5. Bishop Richard Bancroft and the succession – Patrick CollinsonPart III: The court6. Essex and the ‘popish plot’ – Alexandra Gajda7. The Scottish King and the English court: the secret correspondence of James VI, 1601–3 – Alexander CourtneyPart IV: Imaginative writings and the wider public world8. The succession in sermons, news and rumour – Arnold Hunt9. Hamlet and succession – Richard Dutton10. The poetics of succession, 1587–1605: the Stuart claim – Richard A. McCabePart V: Britain and beyond11. Polemic and prejudice: a Scottish king for an English throne – Susan Doran12. Brinkmanship and bad luck: Ireland, the Nine Years’ War and the succession – Rory Rapple13. A view from abroad: continental powers and the succession – Thomas M. McCoog, SJ14. States, monarchs and dynastic transitions: the political thought of John Hayward – R. Malcolm SmutsAfterword – Blair WordenSelect BibliographyIndex

Doubtful and dangerous examines the pivotal influence of the succession question on the politics, religion and culture of the post-Armada years of Queen Elizabeth’s reign. Although the earlier Elizabethan succession controversy has long captured the interest of historians and literary scholars, the later period has suffered from relative obscurity. Our book remedies this situation. Taking a thematic and interdisciplinary approach, individual essays demonstrate that key late Elizabethan texts – literary, political and polemical – cannot be understood without reference to the succession. The essays also reveal how the issue affected court politics, lay at the heart of religious disputes (notably the Archpriest controversy), stimulated constitutional innovation, and shaped archipelagic and continental relationships. By situating the topic within its historiographical and chronological contexts, the editors offer a revised account of the whole reign, challenging many established interpretations.The book brings together scholars from the fields of literature and history working in England and the US. Most are distinguished academics, such as Patrick Collinson whose last work is published here; others are younger scholars who are already making their mark on early modern studies. Interdisciplinary in scope and spanning the crucial transition from the Tudors to the Stuarts, the book will be indispensable to scholars and students of early modern British and Irish history, literature, religion, and culture.

'Doubtful and Dangerous is the best collection of essays on Elizabethan history to appear in many a year. There are no weak essays in the volume, and Doran and Kewes must be congratulated for pulling together such a strong line-up of contributors.' Paul J. Hammer, Huntington Library Quarterly, Autumn 2015'Doran and Kewes have produced a remarkably cohesive yet considerably varied volume... It is an admirable achievement and an enjoyable read.'Susan Royal, Durham University, The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Volume 67, July 2016‘All in all, this is a fine volume, full of valuable insights and one which does credit to both the editors and the series.’Nicholas Tyacke, University College London, The Parliamentary History Yearbook Trust 2016‘It contains much which is original and much for further research, and the Catholic perspective contains much that gives grounds for thought in different directions to the usual. Excellent bibliographical references throughout provide material for this thought. This is a worthwhile addition to the library of anyone interested in the question of the Elizabethan succession.’ Jasmin L. Ditcham, Wellington, Shropshire, The Sixteenth Century Journal, The Journal of Early Modern Studies. Volume XLVlll, No. 1, Spring 2017