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Historical The Hisorical Dictionary of the Elizabethan World: Britain, Ireland, and America by John A. Wagner $65.00 / Oryx Press / 1999 The Historical Dictionary compiles, in encyclopedic form, 497 brief entries on Elizabethan history, culture, social structure, politics, and religious matters. While nothing is provided in-depth (entries average 400 words), topics are covered adequately enough that the reader can easily grasp the important elements of the issue or person being discussed. Entries are arranged alphabetically, with a subject index and a guide to topics as additional points of access. The 218 biographical figures covered include Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Knollys, William Cecil, and Katherine Ashley; the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church; and exploration and the military. Other topics include royal residences, science and medicine, plots and rebellions, trade and industry, literature and drama, and finance, as well as everyday life in the Elizabethan world. Tables are also interspersed throughout, which describe various topics of interest. For example, one table lists the chief officers of the crown, the duties of each office, and what historical figures held them. Another lists the functions of the seals of government, while a third lists the titles of nobility and how many were held under Elizabeth I. The author's concise writing makes for quick, interesting reading, and the text is supplemented with dozens of black-and-white photos and illustrations. Finally, the book closes with appendixes covering genealogies and lists of archbishops, popes, and European monarchs; historical fiction and motion pictures set in the Elizabethan era; and sound recordings of Elizabethan music. The front matter includes a chronology of events as well as simple maps of London, Scotland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and selected New World explorations. While the maps are not well detailed and the entries, by necessity, are brief, this dictionary should provide both the casual reader and the serious historian with a broad overview of the Elizabethan era. In short, the Historical Dictionary is a one-stop compendium of all things Elizabethan. --Jennifer Ashley

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