Book excerpt: In this book, Barrett Beer presents a scholarly edition of Sir John Hayward's Life and Raigne of King Edward VI, the earliest biography of the last Tudor king. Originally published in 1630 and again in 1636, Hayward's account was reprinted in White Kennett's Complete History of England in 1706. Beer uses the printed editions and unpublished manuscripts to produce a complete text of Hayward's book. In his introduction he examines the environment in which Hayward wrote and considers the influence this pioneering work has had on attitudes toward the mid-Tudor period.