Talking about a revolution
Not so long ago, it seemed as if the Levellers might be facing historiographical extinction. The radical political group, orbiting around men such as John Lilburne, Henry Overton and William Walwyn, had long been hailed as a plucky band of proto-democrats who led England down the path towards regicide in the 1640s. From the late 1970s, however, the role of the Levellers came under scholarly scrutiny. Many historians agreed that the movement was not nearly as coherent as we’d imagined. Indeed, the very word movement began to look inappropriate. Such revisionism has, in turn, been challenged and in his impressive new book John Rees sets out to return the Levellers to centre stage. They were “first and foremost an organised group of political activists” who moved beyond philosophical speculation and were the architects of “a revolution that would not have been made without them” even if, in the end,” it was not the revolution the Levellers wanted.”
'Fascinating and wide ranging' Review: Global Migrations. The Scottish Diaspora Since 1600
Global Migrations. The Scottish Diaspora Since 1600
'Tackling the thorny questions left by French Revolution'. Review - Liberty or Death by Peter McPhee
Liberty or Death. The French Revolution
'Bold and breathtaking' Review: Britain's War - 1937-1941 by Daniel Todman
Britain's War. Into Battle 1937-1941
Simon Horobin: Modern English should not be left to the pedants to ruin
We all have our hobbyhorses when it comes to the finer points of English grammar. Simon Horobin's witty book provides the antidote to our pedantry. I have never been fond of using 'they' as a singular pronoun: a gender-neutral replacement for the dreaded 'he'. I assumed this practice was a modern fad but Horobin informs us that writers, including Shakespeare, have been at it since the Middle Ages. Sentences that begin with 'And' also make me cross but, again, history appears to be on their side. The King James Bible is full of such constructions.
When gossip could kill: The Witches, book review
Back in the Old World, systematic witch-hunting had largely fallen out of fashion by 1692. There were still occasional, often horrendous, attacks on the alleged minions of Satan but the era of frenzy showed signs of coming to an end. Across the ocean, by contrast, 1692 witnessed one of history's most dramatic witch crazes. As one contemporary put it, the residents of the Massachusetts Bay Colony were "hotly and madly mauling one another in the dark." Nineteen people were executed, dozens of others were subjected to harsh imprisonment, and communities were rent asunder.
