Elizabethan England

Before Shakespeare became a literary icon, he was a working writer trying to earn a living in an often precarious new industry. Daniel Swift traces how his creativity unfolded at London’s first commercial playhouse, The Theatre.

Imprisoned for nearly 20 years by her cousin Queen Elizabeth I, Mary, Queen of Scots, fought her battles between the lines of her correspondence. 57 recently decoded letters show the human and political costs of Mary’s captivity.

Before Shakespeare became a household name, there was Richard Burbage, the first actor to play Hamlet, Macbeth, Richard III, and King Lear. Scholar Siobhan Keenan examines his remarkable career and lasting impact on early modern theater.

Marlowe and Shakespeare were both born in 1564, rising from working-class origins to find success in the new world of the theater. But before Shakespeare transformed English drama, Marlowe had already done so.

Bess of Hardwick was the other famous Bess in Elizabethan England, after “Good Queen Bess,” aka Queen Elizabeth. Fabulously wealthy and savvy, she outlived four husbands, rising in status with each one. Trace her evolving power in letters from her last three husbands.

Imagine you want to become a power player in the rather authoritarian court of Queen Elizabeth. You want her to notice you in a favorable way, so you need to dress, act, and speak just right. Here are a few pointers.

Culinary historian Michael W. Twitty shares the extraordinary history of rice across the world resulting in horchata, a deeply personal drink for him.

In an excerpt from Straight Acting, Will Tosh tells the story of Richard Barnfield’s meteoric rise in literary London in the 1590s and how his groundbreaking poetry influenced Shakespeare’s sonnets.

Matthew Steggle’s findings about a letter addressed to “Good Mrs Shakspaire” show the couple might have lived together in London at the time that Shakespeare was writing Hamlet and Othello, dispelling certain myths about their marriage.

Learn the power of style in Tudor England and how the right ruff could help ambitious courtiers distinguish themselves in a competitive court.

What were papal conclaves like in Shakespeare’s time? Scholar John M. Hunt shares what’s changed from the early modern period and what remains the same.

Austin Tichenor travels back to Elizabethan England with Nicole Galland’s novel Boy about Shakespeare’s acting company member Alexander Cooke in a surprisingly contemporary exploration of gender roles onstage and off.