Why read The Blazing World?

Book cover of The Blazing World

Book description

A WATERSTONES, TELEGRAPH, ECONOMIST AND NEW YORKER BOOK OF THE YEAR
A major new history of England's turbulent seventeenth century and how it marked the birth of a new world

'This is a wonderful book, exhaustively researched, vigorously argued and teeming with the furious joy of seventeenth-century life' The Times

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Topics

Oliver Cromwell

Genres

European history

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Blazing World as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Raphaël Franck

Author

I like how this book brings 17th-century England alive.

It emphasizes how different England was from the country which we know today, notably by showing how religious outlooks shaped all aspects of life, from holiday celebrations to politics. At the same time, it also dwells on the economic and political factors which triggered the English Civil War in the 1640s.

Indeed, by ending its narrative with the 1688 Glorious Revolution and William of Orange's coming to power, it also provides the background for England’s international dominance in the 18th century.

From Raphaël's list on The best books about revolutions and democratization.