The 1590s have long been considered as having had a distinct character, separate from the remainder of Elizabeth’s reign. This book provides a reassessment of the politics and political culture of this significant period. Dickinson focuses on the career of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, and his supposed factional conflict with the Cecils. She offers a radical reappraisal of the divide between the ‘two reigns’, paying closer attention to the continuities between the conduct of politics in the 1590s and before. This study provides a long-overdue revision of our understanding of noble culture, politics and policy making in the Elizabethan era.

"'Dickinson's detailed analysis of a wide range of documentation and literature is a persuasive rebuttal of the factional theory that has marginalized the aging queen.'"