The Verneys
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Product Description
The Daily Herald
`thoroughly intriguing and at times amusing'
The Observer
`Exhaustive and witty, Adrian Tinniswood's biography makes sense of the epistolary hoard, giving a satisfying account of how little family life has changed'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
32 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is history at its best - it's readable, compelling and thoroughly enjoyable. Tinniswood's book achieves many goals in one - a fascinating social history, meticulous biography, powerful family saga, and not least it is a really good and engaging read.
The tale begins with Sir Francis Verney who ran away from his teenage wife in 1608, sold off much of the Verney property, converted to Islam and became one of the most feared pirates on the Barbary Coast. Carry on to read about Bess, who ran off with a clergyman; Cary, a heavy gambler, and Henry who was obsessed with horse racing; not to mention those involved in the English Civil War; Mall, who became pregnant out of marriage, or one of the later relatives who was hanged at Tyburn. A really good and compelling portrait of seventeenth-century England, and especially the Verney family. The history is based predominantly on the extensive records of the Verneys, particularly hundreds of letters kept by Sir Ralph Verney (1613-96) who presided over Claydon House in Buckinghamshire for over 50 years.
The tale begins with Sir Francis Verney who ran away from his teenage wife in 1608, sold off much of the Verney property, converted to Islam and became one of the most feared pirates on the Barbary Coast. Carry on to read about Bess, who ran off with a clergyman; Cary, a heavy gambler, and Henry who was obsessed with horse racing; not to mention those involved in the English Civil War; Mall, who became pregnant out of marriage, or one of the later relatives who was hanged at Tyburn. A really good and compelling portrait of seventeenth-century England, and especially the Verney family. The history is based predominantly on the extensive records of the Verneys, particularly hundreds of letters kept by Sir Ralph Verney (1613-96) who presided over Claydon House in Buckinghamshire for over 50 years.
29 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Adrian has taken the collected letters of the Verneys and turned them into a fascinating story of life in the Civil War and Restoration. The Verney family characters are all uniquely human with frailties and aspirations that are recognisable today, especially in how Sir Ralph Verney tries to maintain the family fortunes, have his sons shoulder responsibilities and marry well with large dowries. The women are not in the background and show how they rebel to the strictures placed on them by society.
Adrian's own views stay in the background except for some, for him, shocking revelations as to personal conduct. Its a surprisingly readable page turning insight into how an aristocratic family copes with being torn apart by the Civil War, with parallel in today's world
Adrian's own views stay in the background except for some, for him, shocking revelations as to personal conduct. Its a surprisingly readable page turning insight into how an aristocratic family copes with being torn apart by the Civil War, with parallel in today's world
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I've just finished this book and found it hard to put down. The 17th Century was a time of massive change in England and for that reason alone, this book is fascinating. However, if you take the history away, this is a story of the lives, loves, triumphs and tragedies of a family. It reads like a soap opera with happy marriage, unhappy marriage,struggling to make ends meet, domestic violence, alcohol abuse, criminality, birth, premature death, love, laughter and grief.
If you liked "By the Sword Divided" ( If you're old enough to remember!) then I heartily recommend this book to you.
If you liked "By the Sword Divided" ( If you're old enough to remember!) then I heartily recommend this book to you.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Verneys
A tale of divided loyalties within the Verney family during the English Civil War, when father Sir Edmund battles with his own conscience as a Protestant yet remains loyal to his... Read more
Published 6 months ago by gardencitybooks
A wonderful social history
What makes The Verneys: Love, War and Madness in Seventeenth-Century England such a compelling read is its fascinating portrayal of the social history of generations of the Verney... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Catherine FitzMaurice
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