Counsel and Command in Early Modern English Thought establishes the precise role political counsel played during the 'monarchy of counsel', from the end of the Wars of the Roses to the end of the English Civil War, and its relation to the discourse of sovereignty, through analysis of the relevant texts in their social and political contexts.
"Every Tudor monarch made their name with a Dudley by their side - or by crushing one beneath their feet. The Dudley's thrived at the court of Henry VII, but were sacrificed for the popularity of Henry VIII. Rising to prominence in the reign of Edward VI, the Dudley's lost it all by advancing Jane Grey to the throne over Mary I. Under Elizabeth I, the family were once again at the centre of power. This time, they would do anything to remain there. With three generations of executed favourites, what caused this family to keep rising so high and falling so low?"--Publisher's description.
Thomas More remains one of the most enigmatic thinkers in history, due in large part to the enduring mysteries surrounding his best-known work, Utopia. He has been variously thought of as a reformer and a conservative, a civic humanist and a devout Christian, a proto-communist and a monarchical absolutist.