The Elizabethan Underworld

The Elizabethan world, so often recalled for its riotous love of life and bawdy sense of humor, was also a world of contrasts. The rich appeared enormously rich, indulging in extravagant luxuries, while the poor often languished in unthinkable squalor, turning to thievery and begging in order to survive. It is this complex network of beggars and thieves, vagabonds and rogues, that inhabited the colorful underworld society of London's taverns, brothels and gambling dens that Salgado here investigates. He describes those others who were part of the underground scene: strolling players and minstrels, witches, alchemists and astrologers. He also examines the measures taken against those who were seen to be in need of correction or reform. Illustrations taken from manuscripts and pamphlets of the era bring to life this sector of Elizabethan society.