Having always had an interest in history at school, and later fostering that interest, at least after a fashion, with the reading of lots of historical novels from the likes of Bernard Cornwell, it seemed like the natural place to start. Hence this weeks post, and probably most of the non-fiction posts (certainly the next one will be because I already know what the book is), at least for a while, is firmly within that area, So without further ado, I give you The English Rebel by David Horspool
I came to this book after requesting recommendations on a forum I frequent, asking for history books that were accessible enough to not bore a layman but also not so dumbed down as to patronise anyone with half a brain. This was one of the first mentioned (I'll be checking out a few of the others later) and had the attraction of being a fairly broad overview of English history, which I figured would be better to begin with than jumping into one specific aspect or era.
From the resistance movement that sprang up to oppose William the Conqueror in the 11th Century to the strikers and suffragettes of the 20th, the book attempts to cover a lot of ground and for the most part comes up trumps. Getting through almost 10 centuries in less than 400 pages might lead you to suspect that it would read as rushed but not so; the fact that some of the longer reigning monarchs actually faced very little in the way of opposition means that long periods of time are passed over without comment, without compromising the books intent.
Did I, as someone with a very limited knowledge of 'real' history (that is, not from a novel, movie or TV show) gain anything from the reading of this work? Indeed. For one thing, I now know more about the Tudor line than Henry-Henry-a few others with Elizabeth in there at some point, which was the extent of my knowledge before now. I even know the story of Jane Grey, whom I'd never heard of before she cropped up in an episode of Sarah Jane Adventures of all things.*
A few myths and misconceptions gleaned from Robin Hood stories were put to rest, some shady reputations were redeemed slightly (and vice versa) and Mary Poppins is no longer my go to text for knowledge of the suffragettes. All told, I reckon I came away a fair bit more knowledgeable.
How much of it will be retained is down to the reader (I'm terrible) rather than the writing, which is accessible almost throughout. In fact, the only time I found myself flagging slightly was in the closing chapters on the rise of the trade unions and the use of strikes as protest. It's entirely possible (or indeed probable) that this was a problem on my end rather than any lowering of standards on the part of Horspool. As a very young child at the time of the Union/Thatcher clash I don't really remember it as such but I was certainly aware of the aftereffects and the dark mood of society for a while afterward. Perhaps this first hand experience (albeit peripheral) made it seem less legitimate as a history text. After all, doesn't it seem odd to read about events from your own lifetime being considered 'history'? Maybe that's just me.
*In the episode the character is worrying about how history will perceive her and the girl from our time (who was very excited to meet her) tells her that she will be remembered for hundreds of years. Either the guy who wrote that episode has a very poor grasp on how up on history the average schoolkid is or I'm a bit of a dullard. I choose to believe the former.
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