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Title: Faith and Treason: The Story of the Gunpowder Plot by Antonia Fraser ISBN: 0-385-47190-4 Publisher: Anchor Books/Doubleday Pub. Date: 01 November, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.12 (16 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Truth is indeed stranger than fiction
Comment: Few tales better illustrate the old saw, "truth is stranger than fiction," than the story of the Gunpowder Plot. In 1605, Catholic militants disappointed by James I's failure to move towards toleration (allegedly) tried to blow up Parliament by piling gunpowder in a basement. The (purported) plot was discovered in the nick of time. England still celebrates Guy Fawkes' Day to celebrate the failure of the Gunpowder Plot and, among other things, Beefeaters still search the basements of Westminster (in full regalia, no less).
The Gunpowder Plot has long been highly controversial. Catholic apologists have claimed that the whole thing was invented by Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, King James' chief minister, and master of a vast intelligence network, with the assistance of Sir Edward Coke as Crown Prosecutor. Protestant apologists claim the Plot was real, the danger was real, and only narrowly averted (by God's special favor).
Antonia Fraser is a leading popular historian of the Tudor and Stuart periods of English history, as well as an accomplished novelist. She writes well, tells stories lucidly, and has a demonstrated command of the period. In "Faith and Treason," she strikes a balanced note. Yes, there was a plot. But the danger was not very real--Salisbury discovered the plot early, the gunpowder was defective, and Salisbury left it in the basement to be dramatically discovered so that the discovery would have maximum political effect. She makes a compelling case.
Fraser is sympathetic to the Catholic plotters, recognizing that they had been pushed too far, but she also doesn't hesitate to call them traitors and terrorists. Contrary to what some reviewers have said, she is not an apologist for either side. Instead, this is a fair and balanced account, written with the verve and style of a novel. Highly recommended.
Rating: 4
Summary: Frazer's version of the Gunpowder Plot is compelling.
Comment: What first attracted me to Antonia Fraser's book was the possibility that here I might finally learn the story behind that peculiarly English observance known as Guy Fawkes Day. Also known as Bonfire Night, this was a piece of English history unknown to me.. Now, thanks to Fraser, this gaping hole in my knowledge of the British people is filled.
But even if you already know the story of how Guy Fawkes was found lurking in the cellar beneath the Palace of Westminster, you will still appreciate Fraser's retelling. It seems that there is more than one spin on exactly what happened that fifth day of November in 1605. And this is what makes Fraser's version of that event so compelling.
Rating: 4
Summary: Seperation of Church and State?
Comment: I read this interesting history of the Guy Fawkes affair and came away with a deeper appreciation of our own First Ammendment to the US Constitution. I'm not sure that this was the intent of the author. However, her depiction of a state-run Christion denomination finally clarified my puzzlement of what I felt to be a misinterpretation of the First Ammendment. The problem we have in this country is that we've never had a state-run church that was common-place in Europe at the time of our birth as a nation. We never experienced (with the possible exception of the Mormons) the sort of religious persecution that followers of out-of-favor sects experienced in Europe. Ms. Fraser has given an excellent portrayal of what such a persecution was like in the England of King James I. Consider a persecution so wide spread that a unique form of architecture developed with the sole purpose of designing hidden prayer rooms for Catholics to worship in. The penalties for worshipping at other than the state-sponsored Anglican Church were severe and widely meted out. As a member of the world-wide (but not world-sponsored) Anglican Church of today, I took no satisfaction in being Number One. It was certainly this world view that led our Founding Fathers to placing the first clause in the Bill of Rights which read, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Unfortunately, time seemed to wash away the purpose of those words to where we now have to hold our breath to see if "under God" stays in our Pledge of Allegiance. Arguing the point with those unaware of the way things once were almost seems a waste of time. However, the more people read "Faith and Treason" the more people will know the true meaning of Freedom of (not from) Religion.
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Title: Cromwell by Antonia Fraser ISBN: 0802137660 Publisher: Grove Press Pub. Date: 30 March, 2001 List Price(USD): $17.50 |
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Title: The Warrior Queens by Antonia Fraser ISBN: 0679728163 Publisher: Anchor Books/Doubleday Pub. Date: 01 April, 1990 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: Mary Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser ISBN: 038531129X Publisher: Delta Pub. Date: 01 October, 1993 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser ISBN: 067973001X Publisher: Vintage Books USA Pub. Date: 01 January, 1994 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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Title: The Reckoning: The Murder of Christopher Marlowe by Charles Nicholl ISBN: 0226580245 Publisher: University of Chicago Press Pub. Date: 01 August, 1995 List Price(USD): $15.20 |
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