Mr Notestein provides a social and political history of England during the later stages of the Tudor dynasty and the early portion of the Stuart reign. He takes a holistic approach to society in an attempt to draw as many analogies and associations with early American colonial life as possible. The majority of this piece emphasizes the individual classes of people found in England. A fairly thorough description of each group is provided along with personal insights into daily life. Quite frequently Notestein creates his own scenarios of daily life from various diaries and other various research materials, that are well footnoted. He also develops a firm understanding of the role of the church and of the state in the pysche of the 17th century Englishman. Throughout the piece he provides small analogies to the social life of the colonists as seen through the eyes of the 17th century Englishman.

Notestein does an adequate job of previewing life as a colonist by analyzing life as a 17th century Englishmen. I would suggest it to any serious colonial historian.