Puritanism and Revolution: Studies in Interpretation of the English Revolution of the 17th Century

Christopher Hill

Pimlico, 2001 - History - 365 pages

This illuminating collection of essays assesses the seventeenth century, interpreting what used to be called 'The Puritan Revolution', the ideas which helped to produce it and resulted from it, and the realtion between these ideas and the political and economic events of the day. Each essay approaches the subject from a different angle, looking at aspects of the revolution - whether religious, constitution economic or biographical-in conjunction with a lively sympathy for the men who lived in that revolutionary time. Analysing the writings of Marvell, Hobbes, Harrington and Samuel Richardson, as well as less 'respectable' writers, Professor Hill examines the legacy of the Reformation and the inspiration provided by ideals like the Brotherhood of Man and the desire to re-create a pre-Norman Golden Age. A book that no serious student of our history should miss; it is a treasury of interesting detail and strong ideas, CV Wedgwood.

About the author

Christopher Hill was born John Edward Christopher Hill in York, England on February 6, 1912. He attended Balliol College, Oxford University and later became the master of the college from 1965 until his retirement in 1978. In 1940, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry, before becoming a major in the intelligence corps in the Foreign Office from 1943 until the end of World War II. He was a Marxist historian whose work examined the role of economic factors in the events of 17th-century England. His works included The English Revolution 1640, Intellectual Origins of the English Revolution, God's Englishman, Reformation to Industrial Revolution, AntiChrist in 17th-Century England, Milton and the English Revolution, The World of the Muggletonians, The Experience of Defeat, and Liberty Against the Law. He died on February 23, 2003 at the age of 91.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Puritanism and Revolution: Studies in Interpretation of the English Revolution of the 17th Century; Volume 458 of Pimlico (Series)
• Author: Christopher Hill
• Edition: 2, reprint
• Publisher: Pimlico, 2001
• ISBN: 0712667229, 9780712667227
• Length: 365 pages
• Subjects: History / Europe / Great Britain / Stuart Era (1603-1714); History / General; History / Military / Revolutions & Wars of Independence; History / Modern / 17th Century; Political Science / Essays; Political Science / General; Religion / Christianity / History