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5.0 

Crime and Punishment in Tudor England: From Alchemists to Zealots

By April Taylor
Crime and Punishment in Tudor England: From Alchemists to Zealots by April Taylor digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

Don't miss out on this riveting read that will transport you back in time and leave you with a deeper understanding of law enforcement in medieval England!

Crime and Punishment in Tudor England tells the story of the enactment of law and its penalties from Henry VII to Elizabeth I. The sixteenth century was remarkable in many ways. In England, it was the century of the Tudor Dynasty. It heralded the Reformation, William Shakespeare, the first appearance of bottled beer in London pubs, Sir Francis Drake, and the Renaissance. Oh, and the Spanish Armadas—all five of them! Yes, five armadas and all failures.

It was a watershed century for crime and punishment. Henry VII’s paranoia about the loyalty of the nobility led to military-trained vagrants causing mayhem and murder. Henry VIII’s Reformation meant executions of those refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy. State-controlled religion—summed up through the five reigns as Roman Catholic; Anglo-Catholic; Protestant; Roman Catholic, and Sort of Protestant but I don’t mind so long as you swear the Oath of Supremacy—became an increasingly complex, not to say confusing, issue for ordinary people.

Although primary sources are rare and sometimes incomplete, the life of criminals and the punishments meted out to them still fascinates. Read about John Daniell and how he tried to blackmail the Earl of Essex; the Stafford insurrection of 1486, the first serious opposition to the new king; the activities of con-man extraordinaire, Gregory Wisdom, and many more.

Crime and punishment didn’t start with the Tudors and this book summarizes judicial practices built on tradition from the Roman occupation. It covers often gory details—what happens to the body when it is beheaded, burned, boiled, or hanged? Arranged in alphabetical order of crimes, it recounts tales of blackmail, infanticide, kidnapping, heresy, and sumptuary laws.

Told with occasional low-key humor, the book also includes Tavern Talk, snippets of quirky information. Dip into it at your pleasure.

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Crime and Punishment in Tudor England: From Alchemists to Zealots Reviews

5.0
“*Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the chance to review an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.* I loved this book! I am a huge history buff and love to read anything involving Tudor England and this did not disappoint. This was fun and engaging and was easy to comprehend. Some nonfiction history books can get very dry, but the author keeps everything interesting. I especially loved the "Tavern Talk" section of her book, they were little fun facts sprinkled throughout the book that were surprising. Of course this book does cover some dark themes, such as infanticide, murder and sexual assault. However, the book is separated by each topic making it very easy for a reader to skip parts that would be upsetting for them. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Tudor history or criminal justice history.”

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