Women All on Fire [Paperback]

Alison Plowden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2000

This book offers a first-hand account of the heroic women who played an active part in the war between King and Parliament in the 17th century. The Royalists include Queen Henrietta Maria, who fled abroad with some of the Crown jewels to raise money and Mary Banks, wife of the King's Privy Councilor, who defended Corge Castle during an epic three-month siege, forcing the storming Roundheads to withdraw by heaving hot embers over the battlements. On the opposing side, there is Puritan Lady Brilliana Harley, who reveals her constant fear as she guarded Brampton Bryan Castle. Anne Fairfax, wife of Cromwell's northern General, who was taken prisoner after the battle of Adwalton Moor near Leeds and a classic account of the war from a Puritan's view by Lucy Hutchinson, wife of the Governor of Nottingham.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Alison Plowden is the author of many books, including THE YOUNG ELIZABETH and THE STUART PRINCESSES.

Product Details

• Paperback: 229 pages
• Publisher: Sutton Publishing (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0750925523
• ISBN-13: 978-0750925525
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,773,549 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars marvelous!, June 18, 2002

By 

Morpho menelaus (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Women All on Fire: The Women of the English Civil War (Hardcover)

A wonderful book, brimming with the fiery personalities of women long dead. Plowden's purpose in this book is not to give an overview of the English civil war (don't buy the book if that's what you need), but to show how women participated. She does this by giving specific examples from the lives of Queen Henrietta Maria, Ann Fanshawe, Charlotte Stanley, Mary Verney, Jane Lane, Mary Banks, Brilliana Harley, Anne Fairfax, and many more. Plowden draws her information primarily from letters, many of them between husbands and wives. While her focus is on the women, she does not hesitate to bring out the strengths and weaknesses of their husbands, and she shows the warmth and devotion of these 17th century couples with an intensity that makes their relationships seem enviable.

One caution: this is a very specific book about a specific subject. If you know nothing about the English civil war, you may be a tad confused. If you're interested enough, you'll still enjoy the book, but you'll enjoy it more if you already have at least a skeletal knowledge of the history and the major players.

One weakness: the organization of the book was at first confusing. It is organized more by individual women than by chronology, although the whole is chronological (we stay with one person for a while, then jump to another, then to another, finally back to person number one). This is a trifle confusing, but I'm not sure how I'd do it differently.