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The Seventeenth Century Lady

"I recommend reading."

Historical Novels Review

Such a wonderful concise and fun read. Really well researched and with excellent writing, a lovely book to add to your tudor nonfiction reads.

NetGalley, Sara Marsden

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This was a great nonfiction read, I enjoy the Elizabethan age and I thought it was a well-researched and well read read.

NetGalley, Kay McLeer

I would recommend this book to all those interested in the sexual culture and mores of the day. It will probably be very appealing to social historians covering that period in history. It is a light hearted easy read and will broaden knowledge about the sexual goings on of that era.

Alison Wall, Local History Group

Don't you love it when the titles tell you EXACTLY what the book is about?

Well, I do. Especially when it comes to non-fiction.

This book is exactly what it says on the tin, a look at sex, love, and marriage in the Elizabethan Age. Featuring lots of primary resources and excerpts from diaries, letters, and writings of the age this book dives into what the romantic side of Elizabethan England entailed.

And honestly, it's fascinating. This isn't an era of licentiousness that is often portrayed in Puritan literature but a bright, sensual, and much more liberal world. The author shows the good and the bad and tries very hard not to make judgement calls Unfortunately, that approach sometimes backfires because there isn't enough context or explanation given -- especially considering that Elizabethan syntax, vocabulary, and writing style are very different from our own... this book is a valuable resource for an author setting their books in the time and for Tudor England scholars.

NetGalley, Michelle Louise

Well written using lots of contemporary sources. It presents a readable picture of a time when the social mores were very different from those of today.

NetGalley, Sue Andrews

Pritchard sets out to answer the question of how people in the Elizabethan age viewed sex, marriage and love. He starts of with the common people and then moves on to Queen Elizabeth the first and her court. I really enjoy reading about Tudor history and this book certainly didn't disappoint.

NetGalley, Penelope Jenkins

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Interesting, informative and well written! This book grabbed my interest from the first chapter and held it through to the last chapter. A definite must read for anyone interested in the time period.

NetGalley, Heather Bennett

This was a pretty fun book that was also really informative. We often hear about the art, theater and literature of this era as well as wars and politics but we never hear much about the personal and sex lives of the people, R.E. Pritchard rectifies that.

NetGalley, Joanna Pentikis

I enjoyed this book - it gave an extra level of information about attitudes to sex and marriage into the late 1500s and into the early 1600s. I was grateful for the primary sources which were quoted, sometimes at length - and liked how the author drew on different types of evidence - how lucky we are that we have a doctor's diary left from the age!

NetGalley, Jo Romero

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars


I have a passion for history and in particular the Tudor age so was thrilled to be able to read this and it certainly did not disappoint.

Including information from original sources, this was an exceptional read.

This was a wide reaching overview of the time and I found it fascinating.

Would highly recommend.

NetGalley, Maria Martignetti

If you want a unique look at love and marriage in the late Tudor dynasty, you should give, “Sex, Love, and Marriage in the Elizabethan Age” by R.E. Pritchard a try.

NetGalley, Heidi Malagisi

I really enjoyed this book, it was a real eye opener! Well researched, quirky and easy to read. I shall use this a a reference book whenever I read novels set in this time, as it is my favourite era.

NetGalley, Daphne Sharpe

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This delightful book covers every aspects of the English social life & customs around love and relationships during the second part of the 16th century with lots of delicious details & plenty of wit. From courtship to engagement, from marriage to childbirth from divorce to adultery the author give us a panoramic view of the emotions of the Virgin Queen's subjects. All the aspects of human love and its consequences are artfuly dissected in this wonderful book from the nitty gritty emotions of ordinary daily life to its many representations in literature & popular culture. A very sophisticated overview of the human heart and its emotions under the most sophisticated Tudor monarch, Queen Bess.

NetGalley, jean luc estrella

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Elizabethan life, literature and history is intriguing and we often wonder how people lived in other times, what drove them, what delighted them, their differences and similarities to us now, what their love lives were like. This book offers us even more glimpses into the private (and not so private) lives of all classes from the poor to royalty. We are, after all, human beings.

Along with other informational details the author includes the meanings of "halek" and "occupy", the marrying ages of both women and men, the role of politics, the reasons for marriage which often excluded love in all classes, the prevalence of syphilis (the "pox"), dowries, short lifespans which meant a high prevalence of sexual crimes, church views, propriety vs. impropriety, those blighted due to connections, seasonality of reproduction in the poor class and the hands-off approach of the upper class in raising children. Many examples were given including known and lesser known people. Important writers of the day such as Shakespeare often wrote about sex and love, subtly sometimes and less than subtle at others. You will read some of his quotes.

Wives were "kept in order" by their husbands and often all that mattered was having heirs. There were tomboys, there were plenty of affairs (always the woman's fault in adultery and other things). Fashion, believe it or not, also factors.

The illustrations at the back are useful. I had no idea that a sieve signified virginity in portraits of Queen Elizabeth! This is what is immensely enjoyable about such books...they teach and enlighten. History lovers should read this witty book. You are bound to get a lot out of it.

NetGalley, Brenda Carleton

A great reference full of interesting facts that made me want to read more. I found it hard to put down and finished in a weekend.

NetGalley, Shelly Myers