From the Renaissance to England’s Golden Age is a single volume divided into three sections, on (1) the Renaissance, (2) the Reformation, and (3) England’s Golden Age. The book tells the story of a time of dynamic political, religious, and artistic change in Europe that had far-reaching consequences for the shaping of the modern world.

• The first section explains how the Renaissance began in Italian city-states and then spread across much of Europe. Students are introduced to powerful patrons (such as the Medici and Pope Julius II), great artists (including Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci), and exemplars of the Renaissance spirit in literature (Shakespeare and Cervantes).
• In the book’s second section, students learn about the 16th-century religious upheaval known as the Reformation, which led to the founding of Protestantism. Students are introduced to key figures (including Gutenberg, Martin Luther, and John Calvin), and they learn about the Catholic Church’s efforts to reform its practices, known as the Counter-Reformation. Students also consider how the findings of Copernicus and Galileo led to conflicts between science and the Church.
• In the book’s third section, students explore England in the 1500s and 1600s. Students learn about Henry VIII and the founding of the Church of England, the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans, the Restoration era under Charles II, the “Glorious Revolution,” and the English Bill of Rights.