The English Civil War

Posted on 20 April 2017 by Diane Purkiss

This is a remarkable popular history of the English Civil War, from the perspectives of those involved in this most significant turning point in British history This compelling history, culminating in the execution of Charles I, brings to life the people who fought in it, died in it, and in doing so changed the history of the world forever In an excitingly fresh approach to the period, Diane Purkiss tells the story of this critical era not just in terms of the battle of ideas, but as the histories of the people who conceived them The English Civil War builds a gripping narrative of the individuals involved and their motives, from those whose reputations were made on the back of this violent and brutal war, such as Oliver Cromwell and Lady Eleanor Davies, to witchfinders and revolutionaries and ultimately, the ordinary men who fought and the women who lived with tragedy, finding their political voice for the first time The consequences of ten years of bloody revolution were to stretch from the cities to the villages to the grand houses, form Ulster to East Anglia to the outer reaches of Cornwall.The tales uncovered by Diane Purkiss paint a picture of a world turned upside down, where madness and prophesy play their part, and where normal life and times are suspended This important book uncovers forgotten lives and illustrates incisively the critical contribution of this extraordinary period in English history to contemporary politics and society. Read The English Civil War by Diane Purkiss – kino-fada.fr A very interesting account of the background, events and main actors in the English Civil War I ve read it mainly because I have a very deep interest okay, an addiction for Maria McCann s As Meat Loves Salt and I wanted to knowabout the historical setting of her novel This book certainly gave me food for thought and clarified some aspects of the New Model Army, the Diggers colonies, the religious factions etc All things I didn t know much about and that are central to McCann s no A very interesting account of the background, events and main actors in the English Civil War I ve read it mainly because I have a very deep interest okay, an addiction for Maria McCann s As Meat Loves Salt and I wanted to knowabout the historical setting of her novel This book ce...Contrary to the title, this is not a history of the English civil war of the 1640 s It s a collection of contemporary accounts from original documents focusing on a number of people who were prominent and obscure participants in the historical events The research was staggering and is documented in FURTHER READING at the end of the book Reading the actual words of the participants is a revelation and immediately conveys the sensibilities and motivations of the time To say religion was the ca Contrary to the title, this is not a history of the English civil war of the 1640 s It s a collection of contemporary a...There is possibly no period of English indeed, British historyunjustly neglected than the Civil Wars Farthan the feudal wranglings of the Wars of the Roses, they made the United Kingdom the nation that it is, politically, ideologically, and even spiritually This is the central thesis of this magnificent book, illustr...The research done for this book was obviously immense and there are many gems about all areas of English society during the civil war When Purkiss writes about Milton, Cromwell, or the royal family for example, she hits her groove Or when she gets on anarrowly defined topic like food, Christmas, iconoclasm, or specific radical reformers, this book is riveting However, the incredible body of research often takes precedence over the narrative of the story which causes the book to sometime The research done for this book was obviously immense and there are many gems about all areas of English society during the civil war When Purkiss writes about Milton, Cromwell, or the royal family for example, she hits her groove Or when she gets on anarrowly defined topic like food, Christmas, iconoclasm, or specific radical reformers, this book is riveting However, the incredible body of research often takes...This history is rather disorganized and sometimes difficult to follow, but it does a good job of purveying the FEEL of the Civil War by examining the wartime experiences of people ofordinary rank than the royals and grandees an...Seduced by the cover blurbs, I thought this was going to be a history of the English Civil War done in a wayaccessible than the C.V Wedgewood classic a book I found dry and hard to follow, a book where one gets lost in obscure doctrinaire disputes between the various religious dogmas.So, was this book better Well, sort of.On the down side the book is far too long, weaving in first hand accounts of many people, who pop up again and again in various chapters But you ve long since forgo Seduced by the cover blurbs, I thought this was going to be a history of the English Civil War done in a wayaccessible than the C.V Wedgewood classic a book I found dry and hard to follow, a book where one gets lost in obscure doctrinaire disputes between the various religious dogmas.So, was this book better Well, sort of.On the down side the book is far too long, weaving in first hand accounts of many people, who pop up again and again in various chapters But you ve long since forgotten who they ...The English Civil War is the most underrated occurrence in British history even the major battlefields are poorly marked and signposted And yet this remarkable war amongst ourselves changed forever how this island of ours ruled their affairs.Of course there are countless books running through the battles and reasons, but this book goes deeper into the psyche of the real people the ones who fought, the ones who remained behind to be savaged by both a...I thought this was an excellent alternative to a traditional top down history of the English Civil War I was fascinated, but I am interested in this period so I suppose it wouldn t take much to hold my attention It was engagingly written and I enjoyed the focus the author placed on religious extremism rather than battles My only criticism is that she expected the reader to remember the names of all of her little known figures as easily as they remembered the names of Cromwell and Fairfax, so I thought this was an excellent alternative to a traditional top down history of the English Civil War...This is a very solid book about England during the civil war It covers the events of the war as well as providing a solid overview of the cultural, theological and intellectual context in which in occurred I have not read enough on the period to know how well it co...

English
20 April 2017

Diane Purkiss