This is a public lecture by Christopher Highley of the Ohio State University on his well-received book entitled 'Blackfriars in Early Modern London' (Oxford UP, 2022). Highley gave this talk in June of 2023 at Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo. Highley specializes in Early Modern literature, culture, and history. Along with his many publications, honors, grants, and awards, he is the author of 'Shakespeare, Spenser, and the Crisis in Ireland' (Cambridge UP, 1997), 'Catholics Writing the Nation in Early Modern Britain and Ireland' (Oxford UP, 2008). He is currently continuing his work on early modern London during the English Reformation period, as well as on the posthumous image of Henry VIII.