Thoroughly updated with newly discovered archival material, this second edition of The Trials of Margaret Clitherow demonstrates that the complicated and controversial life story of Margaret Clitherow is not as unique as it was once thought. In fact, Peter Lake and Michael Questier argue that her case was comparable to those of other separatist females who were in trouble with the law at the same time, in particular Anne Foster, also of York. In doing so, they shed new light on the fascinating stories of these unruly women whose fates have been excluded from Catholic and women narratives of the period.

The result is a work which considers the questions of religious sainthood and martyrdom through a gender lens, providing important insights into the relationship between society, the state and the church in Britain during the 16th century. This is a major contribution to our understanding of both English Catholicism and the Protestant regime of the Elizabethan period.