Claire Wolfe on the calamitous 17th century.
When I’m in a, shall we say, mellow mood with friends, I can occasionally launch into accounts of politics in seventeenth-century England.
This usually results in incredulous stares, followed by, “Oh, so sorry. Fascinating story, I’m sure. But it’s really just hours past my bedtime.”
It’s a shame anybody should feel that way, though. Because even in the hands of a dreary lecturer and deadly bore (um, not saying I am one), the story of seventeenth-century England is one of riotously awful chaos — and the birth of modern freedom.
Sit down. Have another drink. Let’s talk about it.
