Devil's Land: England under Siege: 1588-1688 (Cape of Good Hope Series)
About This Novel
England in the 17th century was known as the "Devil's Land": this land occupied by fallen angels was filled with rebellions, religious differences, and the collapse of royal power. Claire Jackson stunningly reinterprets the most turbulent and radical era in England's history, telling the fate of a country trapped in crisis. The "heretic" Queen Elizabeth I, who was unmarried and childless, was regarded as a terror by European Catholic forces. His successors, James I and Charles I of the Stuart dynasty, were regarded as incompetent and poor monarchs. After experiencing the trauma caused by civil war, regicide, and the founding of the Republic, Charles II and his brother James II wavered under the influence of external forces and ruled with difficulty until William of Orange led the Dutch army to invade England and reshape the new order. In many ways, Devil's Land reveals England to be a "failed state," mired in a series of disasters ranging from the Gunpowder Plot to the Great Fire of London, and in long-term turmoil. However, crises can also breed creativity. Jackson's deft use of eyewitness accounts-many written by shocked foreigners-injects dramatic tension into his sweeping narrative. The book begins on the eve of the invasion of the Spanish Armada in 1588 and ends a hundred years later with the not-so-"glorious" revolution. It completes an outstanding reinterpretation of England's chaotic and fascinating history in an eloquent and moving way.
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