I recently finished reading Virgin Earth by Philippa Gregory. It is a dramatized treatment of
life in the last days of Charles I and during the Cromwell years. I have only
ever known of the events of those days from a very high level: Charles was
beheaded; Cromwell was a puritan and very harsh with the Irish; Charles II was
a hedonist and tolerant of other beliefs. I know a lot more now. I found the
book an engaging read.
This period in the history of England is a study in the destructiveness of extremes, stubbornness and intolerance. If we study history, we find that it is most often the zealots/true-believers who cause the most problems.
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