The Blazing World

A New History of Revolutionary England

By: Dr Jonathan Healey

Narrated by: Oliver Hembrough

Length: 19 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

A major new history of England's turbulent seventeenth century and how it marked the birth of a new world.

The seventeenth century began as the English suddenly found themselves ruled by a Scotsman, and ended in the shadow of an invasion by the Dutch. Under James I, the country suffered terrorism and witch panics. Under his son Charles, state and society collapsed into civil war, to be followed by an army coup and regicide. For a short time – for the only time in history – England was a republic. There were bitter struggles over faith and no boundaries to politics. In the coffee shops and alehouses of plague-ridden London, new ideas were forged that were angry, populist and almost impossible for monarchs to control.

Despite the radical changes that transformed England, few today understand the story of this revolutionary age. Leaders like Oliver Cromwell, Charles II, and William of Orange have been reduced to caricatures, while major turning points like the Civil War and the Glorious Revolution have become shrouded in myth and misunderstanding. Yet the seventeenth century has never been more relevant. The British constitution is once again being contested, and we face a culture war reminiscent of when the Roundheads fought the Cavaliers.

From raw politics to religious divisions, civil wars to witch trials, plague to press freedoms, The Blazing World is the story of a strange but fascinating century, told in sparkling detail. Drawing on vast archives, Jonathan Healey refreshes our understanding of public figures while simultaneously taking us into the lives of ordinary people to illuminate a revolutionary society that forged a new world.

©2023 Jonathan Healey (P)2023 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Critic reviews

"The Blazing World tells the story of that crucible era when Englishmen began to think. About God and government, how to limit the monarchy and how ‘the poorest he’ (if not the poorest she) might share in some kind of democracy. Jonathan Healey explains Revolutionary England with great insight and wit, and an objectivity usually lacking in histories written with an inclination towards one side or the other. The book helps us to understand how and why, 400 years ago, Englishmen came to develop political and religious beliefs for which they were prepared to die and would eventually amalgamate in a way which set Britain (and, ideologically) America on a path to greatness." (Geoffrey Robertson KC, author of The Tyrannicide Brief)

"An erudite but readable history of a remarkable century. Contemporary voices, unearthed from the archive, convey the texture of the times and bring events to life." (Dr Margarette Lincoln, author of London and the Seventeenth Century)

"Here a familiar and very important story is told with exceptional clarity and vigour, and plenty of very unfamiliar anecdotes and characters, drawn from all over the nation and all of Stuart society." (Ronald Hutton)

Compelling

A really interesting and dramatic telling of an incredible century of revolution. Once you start listening you can’t stop.
I learned a lot about a period I thought I knew quite well.

Very good book, painful reading style

This is a very thorough history of English from the reign of Charles I to the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and will be of special interest to those who have read Robert Harris' novel "Act of Oblivion." It is especially good at describing how the upheavals of the 17th century affected different social classes.
So yes, I very much recommend the book, but people might want to consider the print version. As another reviewer has noted, the reading is painfully slow (setting the listening speed to 1.2 helps with that), and just about every sentence is read with the same stress and intonation.