The Peaceable and Prosperous Regiment of Blessed Queene Elisabeth: A Facsimile from Holinshed's Chronicles (1587)

Holinshed's Chronicles, best known as one of Shakespeare's major sources, contains one of the few accounts of Elizabeth's reign written during her lifetime. A contemporary history, it was subjected to censorship by the Privy Council. In this facsimile edition, a compilation based on this portion of the Chronicles in copies in the Huntington's collection as well as the British Library and Cambridge University Library, censored and substituted passages are represented between two covers for the first time. Professor Clegg provides a historical introduction and demonstrates that the censorship took place in three stages. Libraries around the world will be able to identify and describe the copies in their own collections based on the information provided.

The Chronicles, a scrupulously produced monument to Elizabeth, is also a rich source for the study of printing practices. The base text is an unusual copy in the Huntington Library containing the largest sample of proofmarkings that survive from the sixteenth century. Professor McLeod analyzes these in his textual commentary, along with the typography, demonstrating how the book was printed and explaining the roles of compositor and corrector in the sixteenth-century printing house.