"A fresh and quite original contribution to an understanding of an extremely important period in English history and to a quite remarkable discussion of the role of Queen Elizabeth in the complex diplomacy and policy of the era...An original, a learned, and very persuasive history of these years...This is political history at its best."--W.K. Jordan "It will be both important and useful to other scholars since it is the first effort of such dimensions since Froude to deal in a narrative pattern with the extraordinary complex problems of power that emerged during the first years of Elizabeth I's reign."--J.H. Hexter Originally published in 1968. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.