Reprobates: The Cavaliers of the English Civil War
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Review
Terrific . . . This is good roustabout stuff but there is subtlety here too. Stubbs show us, tactfully, that everything we thought we knew about the difference between cavaliers and roundheads is probably wrong (Kathryn Hughes The Guardian )
An entertaining and ambitious work that intelligently binds together the art and the politics of mid-17th-century England. Its cast of characters could hardly be bettered (Charles Spencer Financial Times )
A wonderful survey of the period...extraordinary snapshots of an era that makes our own seem mean, lazy and shamefully inarticulate (Ned Denny Evening Standard )
Swaggeringly splendid...Stubbs is a brilliant expositor of poetry...one cannot resist being carried along the sheer boldness of the charge and the brilliance and élan of its execution (John Adamson Sunday Telegraph )
The subtle but powerful light that Stubbs casts on [cavalier life in Stuart England] illuminates also the Puritanism of roundhead England. Stubbs writes that 'literary talent and psychological realism' of the cavalier poets makes them 'precious witnesses of an age'. They are among the qualities that make him one too (Robert Steward The Spectator )
Fascinating (Daily Express )
Excellent...affectionate but forensic...with considerable skill and insight, Stubbs brings to life an age, a literary movement and, for all their many faults, a group of individuals whose commitment to the king's cause helped to shape the history of England (Adrian Tinniswood Literary Review )
Intriguing and immaculately researched (Time Out )
A thoughtful depiction of opposed ideas and mad mutual destruction (Iain Finlayson The Times )
Stubbs's fresh and resourceful prose keeps the reader engaged, while he finds countless ingenious ways to draw the literary and political elements together (Nicola Shulman Saturday Telegraph )
Explores the gilded artistic world of Charles I's court with almost effortless brilliance...marvelously incisive, learned and moving. There is plenty of substance in Stubbs book - and plenty of wit, too (Dominic Sandbrook Sunday Times )
An entertaining and ambitious work that intelligently binds together the art and the politics of mid-17th-century England. Its cast of characters could hardly be bettered (Charles Spencer Financial Times )
A wonderful survey of the period...extraordinary snapshots of an era that makes our own seem mean, lazy and shamefully inarticulate (Ned Denny Evening Standard )
Swaggeringly splendid...Stubbs is a brilliant expositor of poetry...one cannot resist being carried along the sheer boldness of the charge and the brilliance and élan of its execution (John Adamson Sunday Telegraph )
The subtle but powerful light that Stubbs casts on [cavalier life in Stuart England] illuminates also the Puritanism of roundhead England. Stubbs writes that 'literary talent and psychological realism' of the cavalier poets makes them 'precious witnesses of an age'. They are among the qualities that make him one too (Robert Steward The Spectator )
Fascinating (Daily Express )
Excellent...affectionate but forensic...with considerable skill and insight, Stubbs brings to life an age, a literary movement and, for all their many faults, a group of individuals whose commitment to the king's cause helped to shape the history of England (Adrian Tinniswood Literary Review )
Intriguing and immaculately researched (Time Out )
A thoughtful depiction of opposed ideas and mad mutual destruction (Iain Finlayson The Times )
Stubbs's fresh and resourceful prose keeps the reader engaged, while he finds countless ingenious ways to draw the literary and political elements together (Nicola Shulman Saturday Telegraph )
Explores the gilded artistic world of Charles I's court with almost effortless brilliance...marvelously incisive, learned and moving. There is plenty of substance in Stubbs book - and plenty of wit, too (Dominic Sandbrook Sunday Times )
Product Description
THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CAVALIERS BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR
'Dashing and daring, colourful, subtle and provocative . . . stuffed almost to bursting-point with character and incident. Feasting on poems, diaries, plays, masques, letters and biographies, Reprobates introduces us to . . . a flamboyant parade of chancers, dreamers, turncoats, heroes, idiots and hedonists who grab the reader's shoulders and force a drink on us as if in some dim-lit, tallow-smoked tavern of the 1630s' Independent
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Whilst I am aware of the English Civil War, I have to say that I only really know the key points of the battles between the Cromwell's Roundheads and Charles' Cavaliers. So when I found out about this title from Penguin I jumped at the chance to get to hear about the events that not only lead up to the war, but also to get to know the key players and characters of both sides.
John Stubbs brings to the table not only beautifully researched as well as concise history of the time period, but he does it in such as a way as to grab the reader's attention bringing it together with memorable points that will allow you to get to remember facts long after you've put the title down. It's fascinating, the characters a true wonder of their age and when get the opportunity to bond with the past, a great many lessons can be learned.
All in, this title is one that I really enjoyed and is one that I'll be recommending to others who want to conduct a bit more research, especially with the forthcoming titles to do with the Civil War such as Giles Kristian's The Bleeding Land.
John Stubbs brings to the table not only beautifully researched as well as concise history of the time period, but he does it in such as a way as to grab the reader's attention bringing it together with memorable points that will allow you to get to remember facts long after you've put the title down. It's fascinating, the characters a true wonder of their age and when get the opportunity to bond with the past, a great many lessons can be learned.
All in, this title is one that I really enjoyed and is one that I'll be recommending to others who want to conduct a bit more research, especially with the forthcoming titles to do with the Civil War such as Giles Kristian's The Bleeding Land.
Format:Paperback
Despite the sub title, the English Civil War is not the primary focus of this book: it's more about the context than the conflict. In this book, John Stubbs combines literary biography with political and social history to look at members of a group of royalist writers who gathered around Ben Johnson during the late 1620s and 1630s before seeking their fortunes at court. Those writers - including Thomas Carew, William Davenant, Sir John Denham, Robert Herrick, Richard Lovelace and Sir John Suckling - became known as `The Sons (or Tribe) of Ben' and later as the Cavalier Poets.
Most of these men are minor figures in history, remembered for a single poem `Cooper's Hill' (Sir John Denham) or, a single line: `Stone walls do not a prison make' (Richard Lovelace) and 'Gather ye rosebuds while ye may' (Robert Herrick). William Davenant introduced a number of innovations to the stage and and was also known as a rake who had a disfigured nose as a consequence of treatment for syphilis..
`The title `cavalier' became a badge of partisan pride and the mark of a royalist gentleman; but it is important to remember that it started political life, in the early 1640s, as a term of abuse and reprobation.'
While the archetypal cavalier, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, and other royalist stalwarts such as Henry Jermyn and Endymion Porter appear, the English Civil War occupies a relatively minor part of the book. The Cavalier Poets are great supporters of the Stuarts and their belief in the divine right of kings. As Robert Herrick writes: `Twixt Kings and Subjects ther's this mighty odds,/Subjects are taught by Men; Kings by the Gods.' This loyalty is often accompanied by a romanticised immaturity: these men see themselves as heroes and they often act impulsively.
In many ways, William Davenant is the central character of this book. He was knighted in 1643 by Charles I for his services in the royalist cause. By the time of his death in 1668, he had succeeded Ben Jonson as poet laureate, had acted as an agent for Henrietta Maria during her exile in France, and staged the first English opera (`The Siege of Rhodes'). Davenant had also become a successful theatrical manager.
This book took me into an aspect of the history of the English Civil War I'd not previously thought much about. These were not the cavaliers I had in mind when I first picked up the book: I learned that in John Stubbs's view, being a cavalier is more about outlook than philosophy. For a different perspective on the English Civil War, this book about the Cavalier Poets is well worth reading.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Most of these men are minor figures in history, remembered for a single poem `Cooper's Hill' (Sir John Denham) or, a single line: `Stone walls do not a prison make' (Richard Lovelace) and 'Gather ye rosebuds while ye may' (Robert Herrick). William Davenant introduced a number of innovations to the stage and and was also known as a rake who had a disfigured nose as a consequence of treatment for syphilis..
`The title `cavalier' became a badge of partisan pride and the mark of a royalist gentleman; but it is important to remember that it started political life, in the early 1640s, as a term of abuse and reprobation.'
While the archetypal cavalier, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, and other royalist stalwarts such as Henry Jermyn and Endymion Porter appear, the English Civil War occupies a relatively minor part of the book. The Cavalier Poets are great supporters of the Stuarts and their belief in the divine right of kings. As Robert Herrick writes: `Twixt Kings and Subjects ther's this mighty odds,/Subjects are taught by Men; Kings by the Gods.' This loyalty is often accompanied by a romanticised immaturity: these men see themselves as heroes and they often act impulsively.
In many ways, William Davenant is the central character of this book. He was knighted in 1643 by Charles I for his services in the royalist cause. By the time of his death in 1668, he had succeeded Ben Jonson as poet laureate, had acted as an agent for Henrietta Maria during her exile in France, and staged the first English opera (`The Siege of Rhodes'). Davenant had also become a successful theatrical manager.
This book took me into an aspect of the history of the English Civil War I'd not previously thought much about. These were not the cavaliers I had in mind when I first picked up the book: I learned that in John Stubbs's view, being a cavalier is more about outlook than philosophy. For a different perspective on the English Civil War, this book about the Cavalier Poets is well worth reading.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
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