- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: W&N; New edition edition (16 Aug 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1842124013
- ISBN-13: 978-1842124017
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 13.8 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,039,290 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
This famous book by a celebrated historian recounts the life of the unlikely revolutionary hero and favourite of Emperor Charles V, William Prince of Orange, who mobilised the legendary group of rebels known as the Beggars to fight the imperial forces of Spain. William's life and exploits reveal him as an inspiring symbol of moral and political force in an age when ideology and intolerance were the rule.
About the Author
C.V. Wedgwood, one of the only two women to be made a member of the Order of Merit, began writing history when she was a child. Her first book was published in 1935 and she went on to specialise in the English, Scottish and European sixteenth centuries.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is a fascinating biography of a truly great man, and a refreshingly readable account of the Revolt of the Netherlands. Wedgwood does, however, at times, lean towards the 'cult' of the individual that is characteristic of historians of her time, but as long as the book is read with this in mind, it is both useful and interesting.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
All Europeans (and obviously many others) have a degree of curiosity about European history, but, for nearly all of us, it is hard to know where to start. And when you do start, there are so many histories that roll out dead facts that your enthusiasm just evaporates. I started with bulky compendiums by H.A.L. Fisher and J.M. Roberts, which gave me an impression but stimulated little personal engagement. Things got better with Ernest John Knapton (1450 -1815), but it was only when I focussed on specific countries, episodes and individuals that the interest really became, somehow, personal. Imperial Spain (1469 - 1715) and Louis XIV (The Sun King) were very enjoyable.
But only when I came across Wedgwood's Thirty Years War did the thrill of the subject take hold. She has a shamelessness in forming a personal view of her subject, asking what it must really have been like for them, there and then, which captures the reader's imagination completely. Clearly, this involves risks, but I have yet to find any accusations of factual errors or partial misinterpretations.
Apart from improving the quality of the read, her interpretation of facts and choice of emphasis allows you to form a view, which might be right or wrong. But if wisdom is knowledge plus interpretation or judgement, then at least she inspires you to go for it. You might be wrong, but at least you have a view.
I finished her William the Silent with tears in my eyes. I then re-opened Jonathan Israel's massive history of the Dutch Republic (which I admire enormously, but may never finish) and re-read his account of the early 1580s. For him, the Union of Utrecht was a diced carrot lost in a stew of competing facts. For her, the Union of Utrecht explains today's national distinction between Holland and Belgium - a view I shall be boring people with around pub bars and dinner tables for the foreseeable future.
And people will disabuse me. And I will look stupid for a while, until the next time the subject comes up, when I will look less stupid. But at least the world makes a little more sense to me. And if there is one historian I have to thank for this, it is C.V.Wedgwood.
But only when I came across Wedgwood's Thirty Years War did the thrill of the subject take hold. She has a shamelessness in forming a personal view of her subject, asking what it must really have been like for them, there and then, which captures the reader's imagination completely. Clearly, this involves risks, but I have yet to find any accusations of factual errors or partial misinterpretations.
Apart from improving the quality of the read, her interpretation of facts and choice of emphasis allows you to form a view, which might be right or wrong. But if wisdom is knowledge plus interpretation or judgement, then at least she inspires you to go for it. You might be wrong, but at least you have a view.
I finished her William the Silent with tears in my eyes. I then re-opened Jonathan Israel's massive history of the Dutch Republic (which I admire enormously, but may never finish) and re-read his account of the early 1580s. For him, the Union of Utrecht was a diced carrot lost in a stew of competing facts. For her, the Union of Utrecht explains today's national distinction between Holland and Belgium - a view I shall be boring people with around pub bars and dinner tables for the foreseeable future.
And people will disabuse me. And I will look stupid for a while, until the next time the subject comes up, when I will look less stupid. But at least the world makes a little more sense to me. And if there is one historian I have to thank for this, it is C.V.Wedgwood.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Truly the Father of His Country
31 Aug 2011
Format:Paperback
I just finished rereading this excellent biography of one of the great men in history and one of the few who genuinely cared about the welfare of the people he governed and put their needs above his own.
C.V. Wedgwood's writing is a pleasure to read and she has a talent for making the historical figures she is writing about come alive. She also does an excellent job explaining the reasons behind the revolt of the Netherlands. Some of them are very familiar to an American. Her greatest achievement in this book is her three-dimensional portrayal of William the Silent. As I reread her description of his assassination, I could feel the tears running down my face, and that tells you just how vivid and descriptive her writing is.
I highly recommend this biography.
C.V. Wedgwood's writing is a pleasure to read and she has a talent for making the historical figures she is writing about come alive. She also does an excellent job explaining the reasons behind the revolt of the Netherlands. Some of them are very familiar to an American. Her greatest achievement in this book is her three-dimensional portrayal of William the Silent. As I reread her description of his assassination, I could feel the tears running down my face, and that tells you just how vivid and descriptive her writing is.
I highly recommend this biography.
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