The English Revolution: Politics, Events, Ideas (review)

Reviews 245 though despite her suffering she is almost bestial, and since the scantily clad standing man may point at something he finds amusing, it is not inconceivable that the artist with one part of his mind is amused also. This painting, eminently analysed by Wolfthal, reveals to us perhaps better than any other picture in her book just how cautious w e must be in attributing to the past, and in particular its artists, any such uncomplicated attitudes as w e may hold ourselves. Joost Daalder Department ofEnglish Flinders University Zagorin, Perez, The English Revolution: Politics, Events, Ideas (Variorum Collected Studies Series CS632), Aldershot, Ashgate, 1998; cloth; pp. x, 330; R R P £52.50. This book is a collection of reprinted articles from the long career of Pere Zagorin. It provides a collected look into the development of Zagorin's thought, and ofthe historiography ofthe English Revolution in general. However, for those familiar with Zagorin's arguments, there is nothing new to be gained from this book, which has been published with little thought, care or effort. The articles in The English Revolution have been selected from almost 50 years (1950-1996) of Zagorin's career and, as he notes in the introduction, some 'no longer express the author's thoughts' (p. ix). The articles are arranged in themes rather than a strict chronological order, which gives the book a good structure, allowing the reader to follow the evolution of each topic. Indeed, it is as an exploration of the development of Zagorin's thought in an area of study, as well as the movement within thefieldof English Revolutionary scholarship in general, that this book is useful. Included in the book are several articles on the social history of the English Revolution, the political allegiance of Strafford, an article on John Pym's politics and another on the identity of the author of Mans Mortallitie. There are also four articles on Hobbes, and two that deal with Zagorin's later interest in lying and dissimulation. Zagorin's writing is a joy to read, containing concise yet detailed background descriptions of key events, historical actors presented with care and depth, and a consistency of style despite the span of years covered. The major 246 Reviews change in his writing style that is evident from these selections is a common enough shift; from a young revolutionary attacking the established names, to that of an established name defending himself against the attacks of a new wave of historians. Throughout all the articles, Zagorin's command of the material and his ability to marshal great amounts of evidence to support his arguments present the reader with logical and overwhelming arguments. While this means some articles contain the same quotes and points, it also shows the way ideas can be reused and recycled in different contexts successfully Zagorin locks horns with some of the biggest names in English historiography, in some cases before they were big names. It is fun to read lines discussing and criticising the ideas of 'Mr. Trevor-Roper' and 'Mr. Stone'. Even the way historians refer to each other, it seems, has changed dramatically. The choice of articles is a little unusual in places. T w o articles are actually reprints ofprimary material with only some commentary. 'Sir Edward Stanhope's Advice to Thomas Wentworth ...' was originally an important, previously unpublished primary source when it appeared in the Historical Journal in 1964. At approximately 12,000 words it is a substantial text, and it is a valuable resource, but it seems out of place in this book. While the source helps to strengthen the argument of the next article, 'Did Strafford Change Sides' (first published 1986), the key paragraphs are quoted again in that piece. The book appears to have been put together either hurriedly, or on the cheap. There are copying errors on some pages in m y copy, similar to those you get if you move an original page while photocopying. This would be, presumably, because the articles were copied directly from the journals they originally appeared in. However, this does mean that you have the original publication page numbers to refer to, which is a useful...