Awarded by the Royal Historical Society for the best first book in British or Irish history published in the UK each year
Judges' citation: The judges said: Godly Kingship is an outstanding book. It is based on deeply impressive research, which establishes the different lines of argument in what are often difficult theological, ecclesiastical, legal and political tracts. Time and again, her readings are rich and sensitive. It has a long (and appropriate) chronological span, and it offers new interpretations of central historical problems. As well as the main argument about the large implications of the royal supremacy and its flexible and disputed qualities, it has numerous particular interpretations that will variously engage historians of the Reformation, the Elizabethan and early Stuart periods, the Interregnum, the Restoration and 1688, and historians of religion, the churches, politics, ideas and the law. It offers the most compelling account yet of the 'long Reformation'. This is a book which is already influencing historical discussions. More importantly, it has the breadth, assurance and insight to ensure that it will be a book of substantial and enduring significance.