Women All on Fire: The Women of the English Civil War [Hardcover]

Alison Plowden (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0750912219 | ISBN-13: 978-0750912211 | Publication Date: April 1998 | Edition: 1st Ed. (U.K.)

The story of the women who played an active part in the war between King and Parliament in the 17th century. Ranging from Queen Henrietta Maria, self-styled Her Majesty Generalissima, to the oyster wenches of Parliamentary London who laboured beside the men digging trenches around the City. Lady Mary Winter refused to surrender Lidney House to the Parliamentarian Colonel Massey and the Countess of Portland defended Carisbrooke Castle. The book also covers the experiences of those left without husband or father, as well as those who took a lower active part - loading muskets, passing ammunition, etc. A lively and dramatic account of a little covered aspect of the English Civil War.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Alison Plowden is the author of many books, including THE YOUNG ELIZABETH and THE STUART PRINCESSES. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 218 pages
• Publisher: Sutton Pub Ltd; 1st Ed. (U.K.) edition (April 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0750912219
• ISBN-13: 978-0750912211
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,769,529 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.