The social, political and cultural factors determining conformity and obedience as well as dissidence and revolt are traced in sixteenth and early seventeenth century England.

This marvellous new book sets the developments in the government of England under the early Tudors in the context of recent work on the fifteenth century and on continental Europe.

Civilization and madness; community and class; bureaucracy, corruption, and revolution—these essays range from social history to political history and the history of ideas. All take a strong interpretive stand in the manner of the man to whom they are dedicated. Together they make a major contribution to the scholarship on sixteenth-century and seventeenth-century Europe. In the presentation of these original essays, it is justly noted that J. H. Hexter served as the conscience of his fellow scholars for over thirty years—a distinguished tribute accompanied by the best work by the best people in the field. Former students are among the contributors, as are some of J. H. Hexter's colleagues and friends, including two that he frequently engaged in debate, Geoffrey Elton and Lawrence Stone. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, J. H. Hexter received his B.A. degree from the University of Cincinnati and his Ph.D. degree from Harvard University. From 1939 to 1957 he taught at Queens College, CUNY. He then spent seven years as a member of the faculty of Washington University, to which he returned on his retirement from Yale University; where he taught from 1964 to 1978. Among his numerous awards are two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Fulbright Fellow­ship, a fellowship from the Ford Foundation and one from the Institute for Advanced Study.

This study of England's north-eastern parts examines counties Durham and Northumberland as well as Newcastle-upon-Tyne, with its central theme the extent to which the county gentry and urban elites possessed a sense of regional identity. It concentrates on these elites' social, political, religious and cultural connections which extended beyond the purely administrative jurisdictions of the county or town. By concentrating on a series of seismic changes inthe area - the demise of its great regional magnates, the rapid upsurge of the coal industry and the union of the crowns - it offers a distinctive chronological coverage, from the latter half of the sixteenth century through to the early seventeenth century. Old stereotypes of the north-eastern landed elites as isolated and backward are overturned while their response to state formation reveals their political sophistication. Traditional views of the religious conservatism of the north-eastern parts are reassessed to demonstrate its multi-faceted complexion. And contrasting cultural patterns are analysed, through ballad literature, the cult of St Cuthbert and increasing exposure to metropolitan "civility", to reveal a series of sub-regions within the north-eastern reaches of the kingdom. Dr DIANA NEWTON is Lecturer in History at the University of Teesside.

This book reconstructs the personal and political life of John Dudley (1504-1553), Viscount Lisle, Earl of Warwick and Duke of Northumberland. For three and a half years (1549-1553) as Lord President of the Council, he was the leader of Edward VI's minority government. His involvement in the notorious attempt to frustrate Mary's succession to the throne in favour of his daughter-in-law, Jane Grey, contributed substantially to the evil reputation which clung to him both at the time and since. He is conventionally portrayed as an ambitious, unscrupulous man, who embraced and renounced the Reformation to suit his own purposes. The fact that his father was Henry VII's detested financial agent Edmund Dudley, and one of his sons the colourful Earl of Leicester, has helped to confirm his unprincipled image. Now his reputation is being reassessed, but historians have concentrated almost entirely on his years in power - the last four years of his life. Drawing upon new research, Professor Loades looks at John Dudley's whole career and by considering the lives of his father, Edmund, and his sons, places him in longer historical perspective. A new and important interpretation of the Tudor service nobility emerges in which John Dudley is seen not merely as an overmighty subject and kingmaker, but first and foremost as a servant of the English Crown.