Rebellion

The History of England from James I to the Glorious Revolution

By: Peter Ackroyd

Narrated by: Clive Chafer

Length: 19 hrs

Publisher's summary

Peter Ackroyd has been praised as one of the greatest living chroniclers of Britain and its people. In Rebellion, he continues his dazzling account of the history of England, beginning the progress south of the Scottish king James VI, who on the death of Elizabeth I became the first Stuart king of England, and ending with the deposition and flight into exile of his grandson James II.

The Stuart monarchy brought together the two nations of England and Scotland into one realm, albeit a realm still marked by political divisions that echo to this day. More importantly perhaps, the Stuart era was marked by the cruel depredations of civil war and the killing of a king. Shrewd and opinionated, James I was eloquent on matters as diverse as theology, witchcraft, and the abuses of tobacco, but his attitude to the English parliament sowed the seeds of the division that would split the country during the reign of his hapless heir, Charles I. Ackroyd offers a brilliant, warts-and-all portrayal of Charles's nemesis, Oliver Cromwell, Parliament's great military leader and England's only dictator, who began his career as apolitical liberator but ended it as much of a despot as "that man of blood," the king he executed.

England's turbulent seventeenth century is vividly laid out before us, but so too is the cultural and social life of the period, notable for its extraordinarily rich literature, including Shakespeare's late masterpieces, Jacobean tragedy, the poetry of John Donne and Milton, and Thomas Hobbes's great philosophical treatise, Leviathan. Rebellion also gives us a very real sense of the lives of ordinary English men and women, lived out against a backdrop of constant disruption and uncertainty.

©2014 Peter Ackroyd (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Soporific reader

This is a readily accessible account of a complicated historical period in England, covering roughly the entire 1600s.

Unfortunately, the reader made it hard to keep paying attention. He read as though he were reading the news, with every sentence sounding the same. Good Scottish accent for King James, though.

An excellent book

This book on English History my Peter Ackroyd is excellent. I am currently trying to read through most of his volumes on English History. It is a favorite topic of mine. I highly recommend it to others.

Good History. So-So Reading.

The history recounted here is typically Ackroyd: thorough, meticulous, engaging. This edition suffers from a rather flat reading. There is little variation in tone, pace, or emphasis throughout the entire book. One senses that the reader was not that personally engaged in the content, and was simply earning his keep,

An exciting and revealing book

An exciting story that reveals the birth pangs of the rights of the people of England, and by extension, of the United States

I love history as it sheds light on the future.

From "Good King James" (Who wasn't as good as he's remembered) to the removal of James II in the same Glorious Revolution (aka Bloodless Revolution) this is a worthwhile book.

English Rebellion

Peter Ackroyd superbly documents this agonizing transition to a modern monarchy. James I was determined to reinstate the authority of his monarchy along with establishing state Catholic faith. England was facing a civil war at a time of growing international tensions. The Glorious Revolution was the most effect means of preserving state sponsored Protestant religion and build alliances with other countries. This allowed English Parliment to come with the Dutch Monarchy and support the overthrow of James I.

Good but not great

The period covered in this book is a very interesting one, but unfortunately the content is let down a bit by both the author and the narrator, especially the latter. Clive Chafer reads like he is doing the graveyard shift news update at a local college news station. There is no emotion, and his monotone delivery can be very trying.

That being said, I stuck with the book, and am glad I did. As always with Ackroyd, however, his anecdotes are very scattershot, and he leaves vast gaps in the narrative that better historians like Alison Weir would never leave empty.

For example, when discussing the reign of James I, he offhandedly mentions that James was angry when he discovered that his principal secretary, Robert Cecil, had been in the employ of Spain. Robert Cecil was a truly huge figure in both Elizabethan and early Jacobean England, and this comment was begging for further elaboration. Alas, he simply skips past it.

This happens all too often in the book, and the habit will be well-recognized by those who have read his other works. In the end, Rebellion strikes one as more of a primer on the period than a truly in-depth and insightful study. I don't know why, but this seems to be the case with all his books.

I'd still recommend it, but don't expect to be blown away.

Interesting and saucy

What made the experience of listening to Rebellion the most enjoyable?

The author focused on the theme, rebellion, and as a result included plenty of saucy details in an age of wit and irreverence. The narrator was great.

Who was your favorite character and why?

PEPYS.

Which character – as performed by Clive Chafer – was your favorite?

Pepys. A million times Pepys.

Any additional comments?

The author glossed over the true significance of the era. The Civil War was the penultimate event of the liberal western tradition that started with the ancient Greeks. The American and French revolutions, and thus the modern western tradition, wouldn't be possible without the rebellions against the Stuarts. None of this is touched upon, and it doesn't make use of any authoritative sources; it's merely a good collection of biographies and events.

Excellent, accessible history

A great history of 17th century England. Lots of details, but written for the layman and very accessible. I’m not crazy about the reader, but you certainly get used to him.

A good book

This book is easy to follow although it describes a somewhat confusing era. I would have liked an epilogue discussing how these events changed history on a global scale at the time, and further exploration of how the commercial gains of the colonies led to England's ultimate stability.