author
William Harrison
1534–1593
Best known for his vivid Description of England, this Elizabethan clergyman left one of the liveliest portraits of everyday English life in the late 1500s. His writing mixes curiosity, observation, and a strong sense of how quickly the world around him was changing.
3 Audiobooks
Elizabethan England From 'A Description of England,' by William Harrison
by William Harrison
Holinshed Chronicles: England, Scotland, and Ireland. Volume 1, Complete
by Raphael Holinshed, William Harrison
Chronicles (1 of 6): The Description of Britaine
by Raphael Holinshed, William Harrison, John Hooker
About the author
Born in London in 1534, William Harrison was educated at St Paul's School, Westminster, and Christ Church, Oxford. He became an English clergyman, but he is remembered above all as a writer who captured the customs, economy, and social life of his time with unusual detail and energy.
His most famous work, The Description of England, was written for Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles and appeared in the 1577 and 1587 editions. Drawing on earlier antiquarian research as well as his own observations, Harrison wrote about everything from food, housing, and dress to farming, learning, and religion, creating a rich picture of Elizabethan England.
Today, readers still turn to Harrison because his prose opens a window onto ordinary life in the sixteenth century. Even when his judgments are sharp or opinionated, they help make his work feel immediate, personal, and alive.