Accessions 28jun24

Accidentally bought this last night, misclicking while trying to close a tab at half past eleven, and decided to keep it. (UK) (US+)

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.

James I appears here as “wily and coarse,” “obviously profligate,” but not a bad ruler. Europe’s peacemaker, and the first king of Britain, he answered “A turd for your argument” when the Bishop of Peterborough pushed for Calvinist reform.