'This England' is a celebration of 'Englishness' in the sixteenth century, explores the growing conviction of 'Englishness' through the rapidly developing English language; the reinforcement of cultural nationalism as a result of the Protestant Reformation; the national and international situation of England at a time of acute national catastrophe; and of Queen Elizabeth 1, the last of her line, remaining unmarried, refusing to even discuss the succession to her throne.

Introducing students of the period to an aspect of history largely neglected in the current vogue for histories of the Tudors, Collinson investigates the rising role of English, of England's God-centredness, before focusing on the role of Elizabethans as citizens rather than mere subjects. It responds to a demand for a history which is no less social than political, investigates what it meant to be a citizen of England, living through the 1570's and 1580's.