An enthralling look at the career of the Devil in the age of Shakespeare and Milton, including new research highlighting the role of the Devil in literatureThe Devil was a commanding figure in Tudor and Stuart England.He played a leading role in the religious and political conflicts of the age, and inspired great works of poetry and drama.During the turmoil of the English Civil War, fears of a secret conspiracy of Devil-worshippers fueled a witch-hunt that claimed at least100 lives.Tracing the idea of the Devil from the English Reformation to the scientific revolution of the late 17th century, this bookshows that he was not only a central figure in the imaginative life of the age, but also a deeply ambiguous and complex one: the avowed enemy of God and his unwilling accomplice, and a creature that provoked fascination, comedy, and dread."