England in the 1670s: This Masquerading Age

The 1670s were the heyday of Restoration England - a period of experimentation, politicization, and strife. This decade was a crucial period in England's history, yet surprisingly little has been written about it. This book - the first full-length study of the period - fills this gap in the literature by exploring the richness and complexity of the decade, and by challenging existing assumptions about it.

For those new to the period this book contains the full story of politics, war, and religion, as well as a clear account of the popish plot and exclusion crises. More than this, however, it is indispensable for anyone who wants to fully understand Restoration history, literature or society. Drawing on maps, sermons, diaries, tracts, news and a range of literary sources to explore subjects as diverse as prostitution, piety, wit, cartography, commerce, heroism, and the 'talk of the town', England in the 1670s paints a revealing and vibrant portrait of a society grappling with change.

England in the 1670s provides a welcome introduction to the politics, war and religion of this tumultuous period in English history and paints a revealing and vibrant portrait of a society grappling with change.

"This latest volume of the "Blackwell History of Early Modern England" series is a most welcome addition ... A lively, engaging book that illuminates the wide-ranging preoccupations of the reign." Choice

"The book provides a very entertaining and persuasive illustration of the spirit of a particular age. It also explains, better than ever before, why the various publics of the time thought and reacted to events as they did, and so makes the political history of a notoriously confusing and opaque decade much easier to understand." English Historical Review

"This work convincingly disputes the tendency to allow the 1670s to be overshadowed by the Popish Plot and the Exclusion crisis ... Spurr carefully places events in their historical context and avoids anachronism by emphasising the contemporary perception of events ... Spurr is judicious in his treatment of literature and consequently makes a particularly strong case for its reflection of period concerns." Ecclesiastical History

"John Spurr has written a wonderfully intriguing acount of the 1670s ... One could give the book to students in the hope that they learnt how, as well as what, to write." Albion

"The broad scope of themes explored and the extensive use of contempary texts to illustrate his argument demonstarte the author's impressive grasp of the literature of the period." Warren Johnston, University of Saskatchewan - Canadian Journal of History

List of Illustrations.

Preface and Acknowledgements.

List of Abbreviations.

Note to the Reader.

Prologue: Masquerade and Interest.

1. 1670-2: So Bewitched a Time.

2. 1672-4: Affairs Begin to Alter.

3. 1674-6: Nothing is to be Trusted to Good Nature.

4. Great Souls: Heroism, Wit and Masquerade.

5. England's Interest and Improvement.

6. Surveying and Communication.

7. Tyrannic Love: Sex, Marriage and Politics.

8. Politics, Piety and Toleration.

9. 1677-8: Mutinous Assemblies and Pickpocket Wars.

10. 1679-81: A Wasps' Nest.

Epilogue: Remnants of the Old.

Notes.

Index.