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  • The Blazing World

  • A New History of Revolutionary England
  • By: Dr Jonathan Healey
  • Narrated by: Oliver Hembrough
  • Length: 19 hrs and 47 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (46 ratings)

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The Blazing World cover art

The Blazing World

By: Dr Jonathan Healey
Narrated by: Oliver Hembrough
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Summary

A major new history of England's turbulent seventeenth century and how it marked the birth of a new world.

The seventeenth century began as the English suddenly found themselves ruled by a Scotsman, and ended in the shadow of an invasion by the Dutch. Under James I, the country suffered terrorism and witch panics. Under his son Charles, state and society collapsed into civil war, to be followed by an army coup and regicide. For a short time – for the only time in history – England was a republic. There were bitter struggles over faith and no boundaries to politics. In the coffee shops and alehouses of plague-ridden London, new ideas were forged that were angry, populist and almost impossible for monarchs to control.

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.

From raw politics to religious divisions, civil wars to witch trials, plague to press freedoms, The Blazing World is the story of a strange but fascinating century, told in sparkling detail. Drawing on vast archives, Jonathan Healey refreshes our understanding of public figures while simultaneously taking us into the lives of ordinary people to illuminate a revolutionary society that forged a new world.

©2023 Jonathan Healey (P)2023 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

"The Blazing World tells the story of that crucible era when Englishmen began to think. About God and government, how to limit the monarchy and how ‘the poorest he’ (if not the poorest she) might share in some kind of democracy. Jonathan Healey explains Revolutionary England with great insight and wit, and an objectivity usually lacking in histories written with an inclination towards one side or the other. The book helps us to understand how and why, 400 years ago, Englishmen came to develop political and religious beliefs for which they were prepared to die and would eventually amalgamate in a way which set Britain (and, ideologically) America on a path to greatness." (Geoffrey Robertson KC, author of The Tyrannicide Brief)

"An erudite but readable history of a remarkable century. Contemporary voices, unearthed from the archive, convey the texture of the times and bring events to life." (Dr Margarette Lincoln, author of London and the Seventeenth Century)

"Here a familiar and very important story is told with exceptional clarity and vigour, and plenty of very unfamiliar anecdotes and characters, drawn from all over the nation and all of Stuart society." (Ronald Hutton)

What listeners say about The Blazing World

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting book with austere narration

A genuinely interesting book. Unfortunately, the austere narration took the shine off it. Worth putting up with though.

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4 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

the reader sounds like Tony Blair

I didn't test the reader before I bought this book. He reads like Tony Blair, biting off the ends of words and every point is equally important. It's a pity as I have no idea how good the book is. The reader is unsufferable. what a waste.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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An ambitious and invigorating sweep of history


If you are an academic with a specialism in any particular aspect of seventeenth century England, you’ll probably find that Healey has failed to fully explore some vital point. If like me you’re an interested non-specialist, you will find The Blazing World invigorating and rewarding.

The significance of Healey’s title becomes apparent in his assessment of Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle, which comes towards the end of the nineteen hours of listening. This remarkable natural philosopher, the first woman to attend a Royal Society meeting, in 1666 wrote The Blazing World. In it she presents a world both utopian and fantastical, full of promise and ideas. This concluding part of Healey’s book with its upbeat presentation of the expansion in all branches of science ,in which Margaret Cavendish plays a part, leaves the listener with hope for the new century.

With vicious religious and civil wars fuelled by irreconcilable systems of belief, brutal punishments, constitutional crises, plague, riots and regicide ,Healey’s seventeenth century certainly blazes as fiercely as London’s Great Fire. What a century!

Healey writes extremely well and there are some episodes such as s Charles 1’s death which are extremely powerful. His sweep is ambitious taking in not just the historical events which mark out the century but also the social and economic background of the various classes, the raging witch hunts, and the theme of disorder and misrule . I enjoyed in particular his inclusion of the developing market for written publications with all their uncensored (and frequently and scurrilous ) content. Generous quotations from contemporary sources add both lively language and a sense of immediacy.

The narrator Oliver Hemborough has done a first class job on a long book – even though he refers to Sir Edward Coke whose name is pronounced Cook incorrectly throughout!



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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant and strangely refreshing

Initially I found it a little difficult to get into but soon found it gripping and just wanted to keep listening. It was refreshing because it was so good to get to know more about the people who were part of that time. So often they are just names and shadowy figures with no substance but they are an important part of our history. Thank you really good book one I shall go back to especially when I need to refresh myself again in this era.

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A great up to date primer of 17th Century England

Brings the Century vividly to life with deceptive clarity and ease, but new twists enough for those who know the story a little already to think on it anew. Clear unobtrusive narration.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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National Curriculum

This book should be a standard text on the national curriculum. The lessons from the 17th century are more pertinent today than ever before. I never learned about this part of our history in school - which I think is a scandal. This book opened my eyes and was an enthralling read to boot. Thoroughly recommended.

The narrator was excellent. Succinct and quick which I like - maybe this is where the Tony Blair comment came from.

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3 people found this helpful

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A thorough history of a fascinating century.

Probably the best book I've read about the 17th Century - and I've read quite a few. This really goes into the reasons behind the revolutionary unrest that plagued the century. We meet all the factions who on the surface seemed to want the same thing, but were ideologically totally divided. The culture wars are reminiscent of those taking place in our own times, and is a reminder that extremism of any sort never ends well.

I thought the narration was superb and cannot understand a previous review saying the narrator sounded like Tony Blair. He really doesn't.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Thorough and informative

A blow by blow account of the English Civil war and Commonwealth, their origins, aftermath and lasting significance. Recommended.

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Excellent book

Excellent book. I appreciated being given the full context for the period leading up to the Civil War. I was disappointed about the narrator’s woefully poor pronunciation of Irish place names, especially Drogheda. It’s a regular occurrence for English narrators to mispronounce Irish place names but given that they were being mentioned primarily in the context of Cromwellian massacres was annoying.

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Thorough and engaging

I thought I had a sufficient understanding of this period in England’s history. How wrong I was. Enjoyable trip through the turbulent push and pull of politics and religion, the marks of which we live with today.

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  • Micah J. Hall
  • 29-06-23

Compelling

A really interesting and dramatic telling of an incredible century of revolution. Once you start listening you can’t stop.
I learned a lot about a period I thought I knew quite well.

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  • Customer
  • 14-05-23

Very good book, painful reading style

This is a very thorough history of English from the reign of Charles I to the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and will be of special interest to those who have read Robert Harris' novel "Act of Oblivion." It is especially good at describing how the upheavals of the 17th century affected different social classes.
So yes, I very much recommend the book, but people might want to consider the print version. As another reviewer has noted, the reading is painfully slow (setting the listening speed to 1.2 helps with that), and just about every sentence is read with the same stress and intonation.

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