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This book brings Robert Beale, a man usually in the background and shadows of Elizabethan England, into the light. By situating him in his European contexts of education, travel, religion, and politics, it illuminates the ways in which Beale's experiences in the Holy Roman Empire and France prepared him for a career in the engine room of Elizabethan government. A man of modest origins, he enjoyed the patronage, protection, and friendship of some of Queen Elizabeth's top officials like William Cecil and Francis Walsingham, but he was also personally insecure and financially vulnerable. Beale's own religious inclinations, political principles, legal positions, and personal life all come into full colour here, as do the ways in which Beale engaged with many large and overlapping issues in Elizabethan politics and religion, like the royal succession, Puritanism, international relations, and the wars of religion. By thoroughly investigating Beale's personal reference archive, which remains largely intact at the British Library, and additional material across the UK, mainland Europe, and the USA, this book endeavours to mirror Beale's own archival practices in collation, reading, reflecting, and writing that made him simultaneously a jack-of-all trades and a master of them all. By considering a man with identities and experiences both particularly English and broadly European, the book offers a route forward for thinking about Europe was in England, and England was in Europe.
Drawing on archival research to explore the life and influence of Robert Beale, an English statesman of the 16th century and a known expert in foreign affairs, this book benefits from the fact that Beale's personal archive of papers survives almost intact in London.
Europe in England -- The early years -- Finding his feet, finding a role -- To Paris and back -- again -- Diplomatic interlude -- A busy man -- The highest highs and lowest lows -- Abeyance and drift, or, forbearance and shift -- England in Europe.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Oxford ; New York, N.Y. : Oxford University Press, [2024]