While it has often been recognised that counsel formed an essential part of the political discourse in early modern England, the precise role that it occupied in the development of political thinking has remained obscure. This comprehensive and rigorous study of early modern English political counsel establishes the importance of the relationship between political counsel and the discourse of sovereignty. Tracing the changes and evolution of writings on political counsel during the 'monarchy of counsel', from the end of the Wars of the Roses to the end of the English Civil War, Joanne Paul examines English thought in its domestic and transnational context, providing an original account of the relationship between counsel and emerging conceptions of sovereignty. Formed at the conjunction of the history of political thought and English political history, this book grounds textual analysis within the context of court politics, intellectual and patronage networks, and diplomacy.

'This is an impressive survey of political philosophy … This thoughtful survey covers a great deal of ground on topics of varying levels of familiarity.' J. T. Rosenthal, Choice
'It is a slim but important book, as the proven expert on Tudor England rightly points out in the introduction that the topic has received far too little attention so far. It is particularly groundbreaking that the author presents for the first time a coherent, diachronic argument on the fundamental importance of political advice in the 16th and 17th centuries, which is tailored to England in the manner presented, but is also of interest beyond … In developing the argument and the description of the individual authors and texts, Paul acts with a confident, concise and precise language and a confident handling of contemporary sources and literature.' Hannes Ziegler, Zeitschrift für Historische Forschung

Joanne Paul is Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History at the University of Sussex where her research currently focuses on Thomas More's Utopia, as well as the Dudley family during the reign of the Tudors. Winner of the 2014 Sir John Neale Prize for Tudor History, she is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. She is the author of Thomas More (2016), and numerous articles in journals such as Renaissance Quarterly, Renaissance Studies and Hobbes Studies.