Rebellion: The History of England from James I to the Glorious Revolution

The reign of the Stuart kings of England was by all reckoning tumultuous. Ackroyd's (London Under) sumptuous account of 17th-century England features the House of Stuart providing the guiding hand. The book is a time machine, transporting the listener back to a world now very foreign yet containing flashes of such recognizable features as parliamentary government and global trade. Some of the most calamitous moments of English history are displayed. The period was marred by a toxic mix of religious zealotry, political factionalism, scandal, and threatened royal prerogatives. Three convulsive civil wars were fought. Danger and confusion abounded. Despite the harshness and uncertainty, England did witness the flowering of art and science; William Shakespeare, John Donne, Isaac Newton, Thomas Hobbes, and John Milton were all active at this time. The work offers full-bodied characters, crisp and tense bits of dialog, and beautifully detailed descriptions of manners and cultural attitudes. Clive Chafer does an admirable job voicing the various personages great and small.