The second volume in Ackroyd's planned multi-volume history of England, this one is successful so far as it manages not to get sucked entirely into the well-trodden soil of Henry VIII and his wives to the exclusion of far more interesting social and cultural upheaval during this fascinating era. Ackroyd paints a picture of the English Reformation alongside the backdrop of the explosion of thought and writing on religion in the rest of mainland Europe at the time. We also get a more detailed glimpse of Edward VI's reign that we usually do in the stampede to get from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots. There is also plenty of court intrigue and primary source material from both the great thinkers of the day and the papers of the courtiers themselves under these various monarchs. Many of these figures have risen to some degree of notoriety in and of themselves, being interpreted in wildly different ways by various authors of fiction and screenwriters. To visit some of what these figures left behind in their own words is rewarding, as is Ackroyd's generally broader treatment of this period, stepping beyond the palace walls to take a wider view of the larger forces emerging to shape an entirely new era in England, Europe, and the New World.