Customer Reviews

The English Civil War: Papists, Gentlewomen, Soldiers, and Witchfinders in the Birth of Modern Britain

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2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It seems that Christopher Drost didn't really know what he was getting into with Diane Purkiss' new book. One should not read this for a comprehensive linear history of the English Civil War. In fact, there are chapters I breezed through because my interest in certain local details wasn't too high. But the forest-trees issue is precisely the point. For a good sense of the Elizabeth-James transition, one could read Leanda De Lisle's "After Elizabeth"; for the war from Charles' perspective, maybe Pauline Gregg's "King Charles I"; for the aftermath of the commonwealth, maybe Mark Kishlansjy's "A Monarchy Transformed." But these books are all broad-brush looks at how the war was perceived by royalist or Puritan leaders. Purkiss tells us what the war felt like from the ground up, and for that we should be grateful. There really isn't another work on the war that takes this particular perspective.

I was able to follow the narrative despite the author's focus on accounts of individuals. This focus gave me a better sense of what it felt like to be a participant in the war (whether or not you wanted to be). Also, unlike other books I've read on the English civil war, I was able to get a sense of which events were truly important: the battle of Naseby, for example, was not merely a defeat for the Royalist forces (as was Maston Moor) but a complete route which left the Royalist forces unable to recover. I do think that the book would benefit from a timeline of important events, so that reader can be reminded of the chronological order of vents. Also a list of the important "characters", with short biographies, would be helpful so that the reader is not confused when an eyewitness who has not been heard from in recent pages reappears.

Although I have read only the first 100 pages, must take strong exception to Mr. Drost's disparaging review. Purkiss has not written what Mr. D. was apparently looking for-- a survey of the English Civil War. I'm not sure if we need another. Rather, Purkiss focuses on the cultural and religious bents of the main and of minor players, working in quirks/deformities inherited from childhood. I mean, for example: (A) the overly rigid personality of Charles I (formed from physical and psychological handicaps and from the good bullying he recv'd from his older brother);(B) the Catholicising, aesthetic and good-time drives of Henrietta Maria (what else from the daughter of Marie di Medici and Henry IV?) and (C) the reforming zeal of Arch Bishop Laud who, while no friend of Rome, feared that England's best and brightest would swim the Tiber were he not to reintroduce, and quickly, some Baroque Pizaz into the Church of England and be seen to curb the Scottish and English parties of the "godly."

(A) plus (B) plus (C) plus (D) (the dour, hard-headed and touchy qualities of the "godly," presented in fascinating detail)-- all made for a pretty explosive 17th century mixture! I am starting to feel repeat feel how it all happened. I don't think brain-frying surveys of the English Civil War lay this out half as well as Purkiss has done in her first 100 pages. When I finish, shall report back in case my views have changed. For now, I judge that this is a wonderful book, from cover to cover, starting with the splendid introduction to the 'gentle reader,' lovingly (and cleverly) crafted by Purkiss in the style of her time!

If you want a history of the battles of the English Civil War, this is not the book for you. If you are interested in the human side of this horrific period, then this is a book for you. While the battles are mentioned, they are placed in a much broader context.

This is a history of the English Civil War, told to a considerable extent through the words of observers and participants. Letters and diaries of people such as Brilliana Harley; tracts by Garrard Winstanley (a leading Digger); the debate at Putney, between leaders and Levellers add a very human element to this history.

The befuddled King Charles I and his strong-willed Queen, Henrietta Maria, are portrayed in enough depth that the reader can come to understand how they sealed their fates by being unable to recognize a changing reality.

The book takes into account religious disputes, political currents, and military developments.

For any reader interested in this critical moment in English history, this is a book well worth purchasing and reading.

Diane Purkiss doesn't get lost in amongst the Charles and James of the Stuart royal family, instead she concentrates on how the upheavals of the 17th century affected the ordinary person. She makes history real and textured. The everyday fabric of life presented in this book shows how the big event finds expression in small ways. Great research and great writing.

A fantastic example of a bottom-up history that works. Dr. Purkiss paints a picture of the English Civil War using particular examples and stories from the common man, while keeping clear the role of political events, battles, and "great men". This book provides a detailed account of the causes and implications (without oversimplifying them) of the English Civil War on a grand scale while focusing on the impact it had on the people of England, something that is essential to understanding the period. If you are looking for an account of battles and diplomacy, there are better choices, but if you want to understand the mark the Civil War left on the English people, look no further.

As an avid history enthusiast with a strong interest in English history I picked up this over 500 page book expecting to learn something new and interesting, and also obtain another perspective about the period. If nothing else I expected an enjoyable read about a time period that fascinates me. Unfortunately, I must admit I found nothing as to what I expected. I agree with other reviewers who have been negative, for it was way overdone in including unnecessary facts and rather uninteresting bits of information that she has a habit of mentioning unnecessarily again and again. After the third time reading the same account regarding a person's beliefs or problems during the Civil War I felt like screaming "enough is enough". Although the last few pages regarding the trial were interesting, it did not make up for the long arduous trail I had to take to get to that point. However, I did not learn anything knew about the trial and it would appear she kept out a few tidbits which would have been more interesting then some of the other facts she included earlier in the book.

I am still not sure what her point was in writing this book for she seems to go back and forth constantly until I finally gave up trying to understand what she was attempting to convey and simply wanted to finish the book so I could get on with something more worth while, like washing the car.

There are several visions of what history is. Some see it as the result of the ideas, decisions, and actions of great men -- a top-down vision. Others see it as the result of the beliefs and actions of people in all walks of life. When you see the religious passion or political views of an average merchant's wife or minor soldier as well as those of the kings and archbishops, you see the people of all classes and sects as crucial actors. That is where this book excels. One could argue that this approach works best for times of social upheaval and not for the machinations of the Concert of Europe, but the English Civil War is the defining revolution of modern times, so the bottom up approach is crucial. Ultimately I'm not so interested in the tit for tat of battles or minor turns of political fortune, I want to understand how large segments of society came to change their minds about fundamental issues like the nature of monarchy, the limits of democracy, God's expectations for human action. I want social, cultural, and political history all together and this book delivers.

At half way through, I'm thoroughly lost. I give up - which I seldom do - and put it into the recycle pile.

Did the war begin because the Queen had too many parties? Did Laud insist on too much religious conformity? Was Charles just too stupid and warped to succeed as a ruler? Was there really a Papist conspiracy? I'll have to check Wikipedia, which is free yet I paid good money at a bookstore in Heathrow for this book.

The military progress remains confusing and depends entirely too much on individual soldier accounts, in their own words from their own point of view.

I can not recommend this book, especially for non-English buyers since the author assumes a detailed knowledge of place names and their geography from Americans and others. There are no maps. The use of very English idiomatic language can also be confounding.

I did learn more than I wanted about cookbooks of the period. If that's important to you, maybe this is the book for you.

Bottom line - so poorly written and structure, I could NOT finish it.

Diane Purkiss's work on the English Civil War is not a political or military history, but a popular history. Its chief concern is daily life for the people affected by the war and how some of these characters affected how events unfolded. Most of the major players in Purkiss's work are not the familiar faces such as Charles or Cromwell, but more minor characters. She shows how people like Lucy Hay, a lady-in-waiting to the queen, might have warned the Five Members about Charles's plan to arrest them. She also shows how events during the war shaped the work and worldview of John Milton and led him to create some of the greatest poetry in English. If there are negative points about this work, they would be that a timeline of major events is needed to keep chronology straight. Purkiss's organization is topical rather than chronological. She also concerns herself with the war as it happened up until Charles's execution and does not go into detail about the period of the Commonwealth or Cromwell's Protectorate. Cromwell's massacre at Drogheda appears as something of an epilogue, and the Battle of Worcester is mentioned as an afterthought. Nonetheless, this book is highly recommended for history buffs or students interested in the values and ideas that shaped the course of the war and the people who held them.