Anthony Fletcher

An insightful, hugely engaging new history of elite women and the country house from the sixteenth to the twentieth century Grand houses can be found across the countryside of England and Wales. From the Stuart and Georgian periods to the Edwardian and Victorian, these buildings were once home to the aristocratic families of the nation. But what was life like for the mistresses of these great houses? How much power and influence did they really have? Anthony Fletcher and Ruth M. Larsen explore the lives of country house mistresses. Focusing on eighteen women, and spanning five centuries, they look at the ways in which elite women not only shaped the house, household, and family, but also had an impact on society, culture, and politics within their estates and beyond. We meet Brilliana Harley, who defended her castle at Brampton Bryan; Frances Boscawen, who oversaw the building of Hatchlands; and Lady Mary Elcho, who preserved her secret life as mistress to Arthur Balfour. This is a fascinating account of the country house that puts women’s experiences centre stage.

Tudor Rebellions, now in its seventh edition, gives a chronological account of the major rebellions against the Tudor monarchy in England from the reign of King Henry VII until the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603.The book throws light on some of the main themes of Tudor history, including the dynasty’s attempt to bring the north and west under the control of the capital, the progress of the English Reformation and the impact of inflation, taxation and enclosure on society, and makes comparisons with the other Tudor realm of Ireland. This new edition has been revised once more to take into account the exciting and innovative work on the subject in recent years and bring the historiographical debates right up to date. The primary sources, alongside the narrative history, allow students to fully explore these turbulent times, seeking to understand what drove Tudor people to rebel and what sort of people were inclined to do so. In doing so, the book considers both ‘high’ and ‘low’ politics, and the concerns of both the noble and the unprivileged in Tudor society.With supplementary materials including a chronology, who’s who and guide to further reading along with a selection of maps and images, Tudor Rebellions is an invaluable resource for all students of Tudor history.

Tudor Rebellions, now in its seventh edition, gives a chronological account of the major rebellions against the Tudor monarchy in England from the reign of King Henry VII until the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603.The book throws light on some of the main themes of Tudor history, including the dynasty’s attempt to bring the north and west under the control of the capital, the progress of the English Reformation and the impact of inflation, taxation and enclosure on society, and makes comparisons with the other Tudor realm of Ireland. This new edition has been revised once more to take into account the exciting and innovative work on the subject in recent years and bring the historiographical debates right up to date. The primary sources, alongside the narrative history, allow students to fully explore these turbulent times, seeking to understand what drove Tudor people to rebel and what sort of people were inclined to do so. In doing so, the book considers both ‘high’ and ‘low’ politics, and the concerns of both the noble and the unprivileged in Tudor society.With supplementary materials including a chronology, who’s who and guide to further reading along with a selection of maps and images, Tudor Rebellions is an invaluable resource for all students of Tudor history.

A powerful account of life and loss in the Great War, as told by British soldiers in their letters home This book was inspired by the author’s discovery of an extraordinary cache of letters from a soldier who was killed on the Western Front during the First World War. The soldier was his grandfather, and the letters had been tucked away, unread and unmentioned for many decades. Intrigued by the heartbreak and history of these family letters, Fletcher sought out the correspondence of other British soldiers who had volunteered for the fight against Germany. This resulting volume offers a vivid account of the physical and emotional experiences of seventeen British soldiers whose letters survive. Drawn from different regiments, social backgrounds, and areas of England and Scotland, they include twelve officers and five ordinary “Tommies.” The book explores the training, journey to France, fear, shellshock, and life in the trenches as well as the leisure, love, and home leave the soldiers dreamed of. Fletcher discusses the psychological responses of 17- and 18-year-old men facing appalling realities and considers the particular pressures on those who survived their fallen comrades. While acknowledging the horror and futility the soldiers of the Great War experienced, the author shows another side to the story, focusing new attention on the loyal comradeship, robust humor, and strong morale that uplifted the men at the Front and created a powerful bond among them.

This book presents an entirely fresh view of the upbringing of English children in upper and professional class families over three centuries. Drawing on direct testimony from contemporary diaries and letters, the book revises previous understandings of parenting and what it was like to grow up in the period between 1600 and 1914. Using advice literature which set out developing ideologies of childhood, gender and parenting, the book explores the separate but complementary roles of mothers and fathers in raising their children. Male upbringing is discussed in terms of schooling, female through the moral and social context of a domestic schoolroom dominated by a governess. Boys were trained for the world, girls for society and marriage. Rare teenage diaries surviving from the Georgian and Victorian periods show teenagers speaking for themselves about education; relationships with parents, siblings and friends; and their social, class and gender identity.

Childhood in Question explores the historical development, from the 1600s to the 1960s, of childhood experience. Drawing on artifacts as diverse as state papers, legal records, diaries, letters and oral sources, the authors probe a series of key issues: the definition of "the child" and the formation of identity; the emotional world of childhood; the changing attitudes of the state to family intimacy and parent-child relations; the sexuality of children; children and authority; and children and crime.

Men and women in early modern England lived their lives within a social and gender framework inherited from biblical times. Patriarchy—the social and cultural dominance of the male—has long been a fundamental feature of western civilization yet has only recently begun to be systematically investigated by historians. This book is the first attempt to provide a rounded portrait of its workings over a long stretch of the English past.Anthony Fletcher's account draws from a vast range of sources—literary, medical, religious, and historical—to investigate the mechanisms through which men and women interpreted and understood their social worlds. He explores the early modern view of the body, of sexual desire and appetites, and of gender difference. He looks at the nature of marital relationships and shows how subordination was implemented and consolidated through church, school, home, and community. And in a text that is poignant, humane, and beautifully written, he exposes patriarchy's tragic consequences: smothered opportunity, crushed sexuality, and a pall across many women's lives.Yet, over these three centuries, the conventional foundations of male superiority came under acute pressure. Fletcher reveals the depth of male anxiety in the face of women's volatility, verbal assertiveness, and alleged vibrant sexuality, and he shows how the gender system began to be transformed as men sought to detach it from its biblical foundations and inculcate gender identities on something like their modern ideological basis. This revolution in the entire premise upon which gender was grounded is fundamental to an understanding of the structure of English society today.

The social history of early modern England has become a lively area of publication and debate. This volume attempts both to take stock of distinct directions in the field and to suggest fresh perspectives on some central aspects of the period. The distinguished contributors bring to bear upon the theme of order and disorder their diversity of experience in the writing of political, religious, social and economic history. They treat a number of problems in depth, and the result is a series of tr

The foundation of the English state from the reigns of the Tudors to the age of Queen Victoria was a partnership between the crown and the country gentlemen who exercised administration and justice in the localities. This book is about a formative period in the making of that partnership. Anthony Fletcher suggests that the gentry's vigorous response to a gathering social crisis in the early decades of the seventeenth century enabled them to strengthen their nearly dominant hold upon local power. Although reform in the provinces, directed towards improving the efficiency and effectiveness of government, was not a tidy or even an entirely consistent process, there was enough continuity of administrative effort to ensure that by the reign of Queen Anne the enforcement of order had been streamlined in many respects. This book - the first synthesis of work done in the last two decades on local government - also provides fresh archival data on a number of counties. Fletcher begins with an account of the men who held office as justices of the peace and of their relationships with the Council in London and with the villagers they governed. He then explores in detail the world of the magistrate at work, paying particular attention to initiatives directed towards increasing the tempo of government and to the making of magisterial policy. In the second half of the book, Fletcher utilizes three case studies - of poverty, behaviour, and the militia - to explain the obstacles in the way of reform and assess how it was sometimes achieved. By analyzing the patterns, style, and impetus of the government that magistrates and deputy lieutenants achieved, Fletcher is able to explore fundamental changes in the nature and extent of gentry control and in the attitudes of the gentry to the public service. His book is an important and original contribution to Stuart and Restoration history. Anthony Fletcher has been Professor of History at the Universities of Sheffield, Durham and Essex, and Director of the Victoria County History Project at London University. His books include 'Gender, Sex, and Subordination in England, 1500-1800', published by Yale.