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This sympathetically updated reprint of a classic English history is very much to be welcomed. Carter and Mears guide the reader through a fascinating period in which it is generally agreed that the nation had a strong sense of identity. The Renaissance had created a new attitude of mind in which exploration, science and general curiosity expanded the limits of knowledge and questioned the old medieval certainties, symbolised by Leonardo da Vinci and the astronomer Copernicus. The discovery of America led to a radical rethinking of the nature of the world, and the Reformation gave human conscience a central role in belief. The rise of powerful national monarchies throughout Europe changed the political landscape, with Henry VII, the first of the Tudor kings, consolidating his power following the Wars of the Roses. Henry's council, known as the Star Chamber, imposed draconian punishments on those who stepped out of line, and his administration was the foundation of a modern state. His son Henry VIII had a troubled relationship with the Catholic church which came to a head with his wish to divorce his wife and marry Anne Boleyn, although Protestant sympathies had been simmering for some time earlier. The country went back to Catholicism under Henry's daughter Mary Tudor, then reverted to Protestantism under her sister Elizabeth, who stabilised the country. There were still executions of Catholics, notably Mary Queen of Scots following the Babington plot, and the naval exploits of Drake, Raleigh and other adventurers signalled that the nation was constantly under threat, steadied at home by diplomats such as the Cecils. Meanwhile the arts flourished as never before. 169pp, maps, black and white reproductions.