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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Partisan yet shrewd account of the civil wars, 15 Aug 2001
This is a highly accessible edition of the priceless and timeless Memoirs of Lucy Hutchinson's husband, Colonel John Hutchinson. Do not be put off by the often provincial nature of the events described in the narrative; Lucy's acerbic humour and highly partisan outlook makes this an enjoyable read. Despite her devotion to John, and the naturally unsympathetic view she takes of all his enemies in the Nottinghamshire Parliamentarian movement, Lucy is also a very shrewd judge of character and events. What's more, she has a talent for a ripping yarn (literally, in the case of the Earl of Kingston's death!)This is an important resource for all those interested in the period. Not only is this a history of events in Nottinghamshire, but national figures sweep across the reader's view from time to time as well, such as Henry Ireton (John's cousin), Oliver Cromwell and, of course, the King. Any who wish to understand the workings of local and central government during the 1640s and 1650s, the importance of influence, faction and personality, will relish this book. Equally importantly, it is a rare example of a woman's perspective on a man's world. Lucy's short biography to her children is a small beacon in a vast vacuum. However, never forget the source's partisan nature; it *was* written as an apology for her husband after the Restoration, and it is a justification of a Puritan Commonwealthswoman of all that she believed in. Used with this caveat squarely at the forefront of the reader's mind, though, and this is a fantastic book.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Partisan yet shrewd Puritan republican view on the Civil War, 25 July 2001
This is a highly accessible edition of the priceless and timeless Memoirs of Lucy Hutchinson's husband, Colonel John Hutchinson. Do not be put off by the often provincial nature of the events described in the narrative; Lucy's acerbic humour and highly partisan outlook makes this an enjoyable read. Despite her devotion to John, and the naturally unsympathetic view she takes of all his enemies in the Nottinghamshire Parliamentarian movement, Lucy is also a very shrewd judge of character and events. What's more, she has a talent for a ripping yarn (literally, in the case of the Earl of Kingston's death!)This is an important resource for all those interested in the period. Not only is this a history of events in Nottinghamshire, but national figures sweep across the reader's view from time to time as well, such as Henry Ireton (John's cousin), Oliver Cromwell and, of course, the King. Any who wish to understand the workings of local and central government during the 1640s and 1650s, the importance of influence, faction and personality, will relish this book. Equally importantly, it is a rare example of a woman's perspective on a man's world. Lucy's short biography to her children is a small beacon in a vast vacuum. However, never forget the source's partisan nature; it *was* written as an apology for her husband after the Restoration, and it is a justification of a Puritan Commonwealthswoman of all that she believed in. Used with this caveat squarely at the forefront of the reader's mind, though, and this is a fantastic book.
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by Margaret Cavendish
by Jonathan Swift
by Aphra Behn
by Daniel Defoe
