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The English Civil War: A People's History (Paperback)

by Diane Purkiss (Author) "One night in 1712, a man named Thomas Neville lay dying in his own bed, surrounded by family and friends ..." (more)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 400 pages
  • Publisher: HarperPerennial (5 Feb 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0007150628
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007150625
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 4.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 18,704 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #5 in  Books > History > Britain & Ireland > Early Modern 1501-1700 (Tudors, Stuarts, Commonwealth, Restoration, Glorious Revolution)
    #5 in  Books > History > Britain & Ireland > English Civil War

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Product Description

Review

'Rich, vivid and passionate!a moving, lyrical and principled piece of writing!Purkiss has a gift for evocation!the battles of Edgehill and Newbury are thrillingly staged.' The Independent 'Diane Purkiss's study of the English civil war is a rich one. For it is here!that you begin to get close to what it would have been like to live through the nine momentous years from 1640 to 1649!it would be hard to imagine anything more irresistible than this rich layer cake of a book, crammed with the stories and the voices that make history human.' The Guardian 'Purkiss has an eye for the narrative vignette that can illuminate the age.' Sunday Times 'Her vivid descriptions of the key battles at Marston Moor and Naseby are shocking and terrifying in their graphic detail of the suffering inflicted by canon, musket and pike!"The English Civil War" is a substantial book, elegantly written, meticulous in its detail and scrupulous in the sympathetic attention it pays to the voices it records.' Literary Review 'Light in touch, though grounded in an enormous wealth of documentary material this "people's history" shows how England's men and women coped with quite extraordinary times.' The Scotsman 'Worthy and engaging, full of entertaining nuggests.' Dominic Sandbrook, Daily Telegraph


Guardian

'A seductive and gripping narrative that gives insight into
humanity and into life.'
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One night in 1712, a man named Thomas Neville lay dying in his own bed, surrounded by family and friends. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A new slant on the Civil War, 26 Jul 2007
By John Mccartney - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I think this is an excellent book and, unlike a lot of recent history, eminently readable. The insights it provides into what is already a much-written-about period are enlightening and often surprising. It is not a history of battles, nor is it my favourite account of the politics of the period (that has to be Christopher Hill's "The World Turned Upside Down"), but as an account of the effects of the period on the British peoples it breaks new ground in popular history. It is probably as well to have a little prior knowledge of the period to extract maximum pleasure from the book, but even the good old Pelican History can provide this ("England In The 17th Century" - Maurice Ashley)
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A People's History, 29 Jun 2007
By M. C. Francis - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I'm shocked to see this book receive such a poor rating. It's one of the best history books I've ever read. The reader who complains about the coverage given to women is missing the point. This is, as the title says, a people's history - and people includes women and children, not just the men whose exploits are usually chronicled. There are any number of books about the generals and politicians, but Purkiss's mission is to describe what the war was like for those who lived through it, whether or not they were involved in the fighting or political power-struggles. Hence we get chapters on children, food, art, iconoclasm, the banning of Christmas etc - though she's also excellent on the well-known figures like Charles I, Cromwell and Milton. I found it a gripping read, superbly written and often very funny. This is her account of the latest fashionable play at Charles's court: "It was about love. It was about faith. It was about four hours longer than the audience was used to."
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Eminently readable, entertaining and informative., 15 Mar 2008
By Carl Waring (Buckinghamshire, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I'm not really a fan of history books. A 'C' in GCSE 15 years ago was good enough for me and I haven't exactly been at the front of the queue in the bookshops to pick up the latest historical offerings. To be honest, I only picked this book up in my local library on a wet Tuesday lunchtime because the local shop had sold out of newspapers; I never expected to get so caught up in it.

The way Purkiss writes is superb: it's like having a super-informed friend explain something to you in a language that is somewhere between typical history book prose and an almost knowing informality (speaking of a contemporary play she writes "It was about love. It was about faith. It was about four hours longer than the audience was used to.")

Don't be fooled into thinking this is history-lite, though. At over 500 pages it is not for the uncommitted reader, but the compelling stories of ordinary folk coupled with the way they are told and the way they ebb and flow with the tide of the Civil War makes it a fascinating and gripping read. The library can have it's copy back: I'm off to buy the hardback.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A worthwhile read for people interested in the period
The books covers the English Civil War, the events leading up to it and some of its immediate aftermath, but from the perspective of the ordinary people (rather than the kings and... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Bwana Kobe

4.0 out of 5 stars Readable, engaging, and insightful
A wonderfully comprehensive review of the period that includes areas that would normally be missed in traditional top-down approaches, such as the experience for ordinary... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Sophie

5.0 out of 5 stars The people's war
An Australian has written the best book I have read on our civil war. She tells the story using the accounts and histories of people great and small involved in the most... Read more
Published 12 months ago by G. J. Weeks

5.0 out of 5 stars It started with Montrose....
I became interested in the Civil War whilst planning across a trip to Scotland 3 years ago and coming across the book "Montrose - Cavalier in Mourning" - since then I have read... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Emerald Fox

4.0 out of 5 stars A very readable narrative of interesting times
This is a book aptly summarised by it's title. Buildup to the war is
adequately covered, as it should, but it ends with Charles' head being
chopped off his body. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Heimola Mikko

3.0 out of 5 stars Marketing Triumph
Having struggled with the 'people's history' for several months - and pushed it around my desk whilst other books get devoured in a few days - I have reached to about page 400. Read more
Published on 24 Sep 2007 by Stephen Bull

2.0 out of 5 stars Ok , but not brilliant
Given this is an academic review- it reads like my lecture notes- no inspiration, no thrill of discovery- just a PLAIN OLD BORING SUBJECT! Read more
Published on 21 Aug 2007 by M. Notman

2.0 out of 5 stars Unexplained...
As someone who doesn't know anything about the English Civil War, i was hoping to gain some really useful and intriguing facts from this book. Read more
Published on 22 Jun 2007 by Allyson Constable

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
The way the book is written makes it a very difficult read. It seems that the fog of war has descended before my eyes and I have lost all grasp of the order in which events... Read more
Published on 17 Jun 2007 by King Oliver

5.0 out of 5 stars the english civil war
I really enjoyed this book as it not only details the causes and effects of the war but it has numerous witness descriptions of what happened from War injuries and atrocities to... Read more
Published on 6 Mar 2007 by R. C. Morris

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