Synopses & Reviews
For two hundred years historians have viewed Englands Glorious Revolution of 1688–1689 as an un-revolutionary revolutionbloodless, consensual, aristocratic, and above all, sensible. In this brilliant new interpretation Steve Pincus refutes this traditional view.
By expanding the interpretive lens to include a broader geographical and chronological frame, Pincus demonstrates that Englands revolution was a European event, that it took place over a number of years, not months, and that it had repercussions in India, North America, the West Indies, and throughout continental Europe. His rich historical narrative, based on masses of new archival research, traces the transformation of English foreign policy, religious culture, and political economy that, he argues, was the intended consequence of the revolutionaries of 1688–1689.
James II developed a modernization program that emphasized centralized control, repression of dissidents, and territorial empire. The revolutionaries, by contrast, took advantage of the new economic possibilities to create a bureaucratic but participatory state. The postrevolutionary English state emphasized its ideological break with the past and envisioned itself as continuing to evolve. All of this, argues Pincus, makes the Glorious Revolutionnot the French Revolutionthe first truly modern revolution. This wide-ranging book reenvisions the nature of the Glorious Revolution and of revolutions in general, the causes and consequences of commercialization, the nature of liberalism, and ultimately the origins and contours of modernity itself.
Review
"[A]n important, fresh, and imaginative work of scholarship. . . . It will have recast the origins of modern England as well as the history of the revolution of 1688."Bernard Bailyn,
New York Review of Books -- Belinda Cooke - The Russian Review
Review
“Mr. Pincuss cogently argued account of what really happened during Englands revolution destroys many comforting notions that have prevailed for more than 200 years…. It leaves the reader with something much more exciting: a new understanding of the origins of the modern, liberal state.”--
Economist -- Bernard Bailyn - New York Review of Books
Review
"Utterly extraordinary."Don Herzog, University of Michigan -- Economist
Review
"In this remarkable work of scholarship, vast in scope and profound in its implications, Pincus challenges Macaulay and the orthodox view that the Glorious Revolution was moderate, peaceful, and conservative, and reveals a violent transformational event that revolutionized Englands state, church, and political economy, and introduced political modernity."Bernard Bailyn, Harvard University -- Don Herzog
Review
"A radical interpretation of a radical revolution. Steve Pincuss brilliantly researched account of the extraordinary events of the 1680s and 1690s mounts an insuperable challenge to the comfortable view that the Glorious Revolution was another instance of British consensus politics, pragmatism, and common sense. 1688 recaptures the revolutionary nature of the Glorious Revolution and its far-reaching and interconnected conflicts over foreign policy, political economy, religion, and the nature of the modern state."John Brewer, California Institute of Technology -- Bernard Bailyn
Review
“A magnificent, fully documented, very well written study of how the first thorough-going modern revolution was achieved with effort and against substantial obstacles over several years. It was bloody and popular, not merely a palace coup achieved with little loss of life, as is commonly held. Taking a broader chronological view and considering more aspects of society than previous historians, Pincus convincingly shows how England had become a commercial society by the 1680s, and the race was on to harness new wealtha race between the absolutist modernizing vision of James II and the more tolerant and liberty-minded vision of his opponents. What emerged was the first modern state, with independent financial institutions and a strong sense of national and civil, as opposed to confessional, interest. The triumph of William III and his supporters was a conscious re-ordering of the place of the three kingdoms on the European and world stage. Pincuss commitment to vigorous argument (in which he overturns many received views; his definition of revolution itself is bracingly refreshing) makes this book exciting reading, and will raise fascinated interest in the late 17th-century for many years to come. For anyone interested in modern liberal society, its origins, and why it is worth defending, this book is indispensable.”Nigel Smith, Princeton University
-- John Brewer
Review
Bronze Medal winner for the 2010 Independent Publishers Book Awards in the History Category -- Nigel Smith
Review
"Meticulously researched and deftly written" Andrew Stuttaford, National Review -- Independent Publishers Book Awards
Review
Honorable Mention in the Non-Fiction category of the 2009 New England Book Festival sponsored by the Larimar St. Croix Writers Colony, The Hollywood Creative Directory; eDivvy, Shopanista and Westside Websites -- Andrew Stuttaford - National Review
Review
“One of the most ambitious works of history to appear in recent years--a radical reinterpretation of events that intends not merely to update and improve prior accounts but to vanquish them conclusively. The book is a marvel of scholarship.”--
The National -- New England Book Festival
Review
"The grand aspirations of this book and the broad sweep of its claims will insure that it is taken seriously by scholars working on the Glorious Revolution for years to come...It will stand out as the opening salvo in a series of historical batkes that wukk light up 1688 in newly vibrant tones."--Paul Monod, Journal of Church History -- The National - Connecticut Center for the Book
Review
Winner of the 2010 Morris D. Forkosch Prize given by the American Historical Association -- Paul Monod - Journal of Church History
Review
Named a Top 10 Book of 2010--
Wilson Quarterly -- Morris D. Forkosch Prize - American Historical Association
Review
"There is much to be said for Pincuss approach, blending economic and political theory together with seemingly effortless ease in a well-written and highly readable account...In the end, there is every reason to think that his analysis of the events of late-seventeenth-century England will, for want of a better term, revolutionize our understanding of the period."--Scott Hendrix, Canadian Journal of History -- Wilson Quarterly
Review
"Carlton ranges from the broad view to the personal and examines nearly every aspect of British warfare during this period, but he never becomes so bogged down in the details as to lose the reader. Very readable, packed with details and abundant endnotes, this is a fine addition to British military and naval history."and#8212;D.M. Hall, Choice
Review
'A vivid and extremely wide-ranging account,andnbsp;which will draw its readers in.' - Mark Stoyle, author of Soldiers and Strangers: An Ethnic History of the English Civil War
Review
and#8216;Carlton explores with great insight the many dimensions of warfare over an impressive chronological span. This Seat of Mars is a major achievement.and#8217; - Mark Charles Fissel, author of English Warfare, 1511-1642
Review
and#8220;This Seat of Mars deserves to become a classic text on war itself and on Britainand#8217;s martial ancestry.and#8221;and#8212;Allan Mallinson, The Times
Synopsis
Shakespeare was not exaggerating when he defined being a soldier as one of the seven ages of man. Over the early modern period, many millions of young men from the four corners of theand#160;present United Kingdom went to war, oftenand#8212;and most bloodilyand#8212;against each other. The almost continuous fighting on land and sea for the two and one-half centuries between Bosworth and Culloden decimated lives, but created the British state and forged the nation as the world's predominant power.
In this innovative and moving book, Charles Carlton explores the glorious and terrible impact of war at the national and individual levels. Chapters alternate, providing a robust military and political narrative interlaced with accounts illuminating the personal experience of war, from recruitment to the end of battle in discharge or death. Carlton expertly charts the remarkable military developments over the period, as well as war's enduring corollariesand#8212;camaraderie, courage, fear, and griefand#8212;to give a powerful account of the profound effect of war on the British Isles and its peoples.
About the Author
Steve Pincus is professor of history at Yale University. He is the author of Protestantism and Patriotism and England's Glorious Revolution. He lives in New Haven, CT.