Product Description

To an extraordinary extent everyone in Britain still lives under the shadow of the 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688. It was a massive, brutal and terrifying event, which completely changed the governments of England, Scotland and Ireland and which was only achieved through overwhelming violence. Revolution brilliantly captures the sense that this was a great turning point in Britain's history, but also shows how severe a price was paid to achieve this.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #61279 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 640 pages

Review
Gripping ... a much-needed reinterrogation (Daily Telegraph )

A magisterial work...confident prose, trenchant insight and vivid illustration (Independent )

About the Author
Tim Harris is Professor of History at Brown University, Rhode Island. He previously taught for some years at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. His last book was the widely praised Restoration: Charles II and His Kingdoms, 1660-1685 (published simultaneously with Revolution in paperback) which is a prelude to the current book.

Customer Reviews

Puts the revolution back into perspective
The revolution of 1688 was for centuries considered the foundation of the modern British state and constitution. In 1788 and 1888, there were great national celebrations to commemorate it. In the 1960s it fell out of fashion, first with Marxists historians, and then with conservatives, who argued it was merely a coup d'etat within the ruling class.

Tim Harris's book is one of a number putting the revolution back into proper historical context, and explaining how fundamental it was not only in the political and social development of Britain, but also in Scotland, Ireland and in the American colonies. Harris explains how the Stuarts' ideology of the absolute divine right of kings gave way to the constitutional rule of law to which everyone was equally subject, with an independent judiciary, division of powers, free speech, popular elections and parliaments. Of the current crop of popular histories of the revolution, this is probably the best in terms of balanced overview, and in presenting a conventional "narrative history". It's probably the best general history book on the subject at least since David Ogg's work in the 1950's.

A brilliant dissection of the Revolution that shaped the Britain of today
This is Tim Harris's second of two books covering the Restoration of King Charles II and the Glorious Revolution that ended the reign of his brother James II.

Whilst the author states that each of these books can be read in isolation, I would recommend that they be read together in sequence since the first gives so much insight into the second. But if you are not familiar with the history of those times, I would further recommend first reading a more broad-brush history of the events (such as Edward Vallance's "The Glorious Revolution: 1688 - Britain's Fight for Liberty") to gain a better perspective of Harris's theses.

Theses is probably an appropriate word to describe Harris's books since they are academic works that break new ground, and differ in many ways from more customary histories. Most noticeably they do not focus on events: the Monmouth rebellion is dealt with in less than a page, and the Siege of Derry and the Battle of the Boyne are covered in probably fewer words. Yet what he writes about these and other events is all that needs to be said about them (though one might not appreciate their historic significance if one was not familiar with the stories surrounding them). Instead, Harris focuses on the way events were affected by the views of contemporary people - monarchs, ministers, MPs, churchmen, local officials and the general population, and how the lives of people were affected by then.

Both books are in fact compendiums of contemporary quotations from historical records, combined with Harris's own incisive interpretation of the views that are expressed and on the effects of such views on events. It's a vivid mosaic that gives the reader a genuine sense of appreciating and understanding the later-Stuart world as people experienced it. Indeed Harris's intended purpose in doing this is to demonstrate how public opinion rose in importance in steering the actions of the leading politicians of the day, and ultimately how it brought about the deposition (or resignation) of James II.

Not only is Harris's work unusual in its approach to the interpretation of history, but it is probably unique in describing the effects of Charles and James II's policies on the three kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland and how each country's response to events affected the policies of the others. Harris claims (no doubt correctly) that no detailed study had previously been conducted into the causes and effects of the Glorious Revolution on the Scottish kingdom, and yet it becomes clear from his narrative that events in Scotland had a profound effect on those in both England and Ireland.

Harris's work firmly justifies his conclusion that the Glorious Revolution was perhaps not so Glorious and it was certainly not the peaceful revolution that it is sometimes claimed to be, especially in the Scottish and Irish kingdoms where much bloodshed resulted. But Harris demonstrates that it was, in all its various outcomes, a much more profound revolution than the Cromwellian revolution in that it not only shaped the Britain of today, but many its effects are still with us and even now are only gradually being undone - for instance with the formation of an independent Scottish parliament, and discussions about ending the ban on Royal marriages to people of the Catholic faith.

Harris's two books combine to make probably the most interesting "history" that I have ever read. He is to be congratulated for completing what must have been a monumental task in researching and recording thousands of contemporary records, interpreting their meaning and putting them into a modern perspective, whilst consistently maintaining a pace and style that makes both his books compulsive reading.