Entertainments for Elizabeth I

If you're interested in looking at the entertainments (an earlier word for 'masques') for Elizabeth, then this book would be super helpful. I got it via ILL, but I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to also find it. I think I'm turning it in soon, or you can borrow it from me. I mean, it's kind of what I'm focusing on, so hopefully nobody else is too into this, but even if you're not, this book has some good stuff.

A great deal of this is about pageantry, but then it connects to other, broader topics. I think the section on progresses is interesting, especially from a representation standpoint. Elizabeth was famous for her progresses through England, as a means of becoming closer to her people and having her people feel closer to her. It worked, too - the progresses really encouraged that kind of mother/children image Elizabeth was going for.

There's a chapter called "Elizabeth's consciousness of her cult," which just sounds fun.The section "Elizabeth as a supernatural being," as you can tell, is a focused look at Elizabeth's various representations.

This book is just so fun. The chapters are short, but super informative, and it's really easy to read. Clearly, Jean Wilson has a sense of humor. Literally, the dedication in this thing is:

FOR NORMAN AND GAWAIN
WITHOUT WHOM THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN WRITTEN

SEVERAL YEARS AGO

A couple things. First, the amount of sass in this dedication is admirable. But also, of course an English history buff would name their kid Gawain. Of course. 

Wilson, Jean. Entertainments for Elizabeth I. Totowa: Rowman and Littlefield, 1980. Print.