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hobbleit's review
4.0
Well written, excellently researched, compelling and very easy to read. A very good book indeed.
lisa_setepenre's review
3.0
England, Arise tells the story of the “Great Revolt” of 1381, where the ordinary people of 14th century England rose up against the state and church to demand fairer treatment and equality. Barker has constructed book that explores the politics, people and the king at the centre of the revolt, providing a snapshot of this time.
I picked this up after being deeply impressed by Barker’s [b:Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle That Made England|633927|Agincourt Henry V and the Battle That Made England|Juliet Barker|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344270456s/633927.jpg|620219], which was a thorough but immensely readable, gripping read. England, Arise … well, it didn’t really live up to expectations.
I have no real comments to make about how Barker handled the history – being Australian, my understanding of English history is pretty much “they dumped convicts here 200+ years ago” and whatever I can gleam from Blackadder. I was unaware that there was even a revolt in 1381 until fairly recently. But Barker’s account appears well-researched and was certainly informative.
However, it lacked the ‘spark’ that made Agincourt work for me. It is not that the Great Revolt lacks drama, but rather, perhaps, that it lacks the ‘detail’ that makes the people involved come alive and become compelling agents. Barker achieves this when discussing Richard II – and maybe it is a sign of my bias as a reader, being interested in the shinier people, or maybe it’s just that Barker has more material she can use to build up a portrait of Richard II. However, Richard II dips in and out of the narrative, and it is the individual uprisings that take centre stage and it is easy to get lost in the wealth of information provided, the numerous names going past.
I picked this up after being deeply impressed by Barker’s [b:Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle That Made England|633927|Agincourt Henry V and the Battle That Made England|Juliet Barker|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344270456s/633927.jpg|620219], which was a thorough but immensely readable, gripping read. England, Arise … well, it didn’t really live up to expectations.
I have no real comments to make about how Barker handled the history – being Australian, my understanding of English history is pretty much “they dumped convicts here 200+ years ago” and whatever I can gleam from Blackadder. I was unaware that there was even a revolt in 1381 until fairly recently. But Barker’s account appears well-researched and was certainly informative.
However, it lacked the ‘spark’ that made Agincourt work for me. It is not that the Great Revolt lacks drama, but rather, perhaps, that it lacks the ‘detail’ that makes the people involved come alive and become compelling agents. Barker achieves this when discussing Richard II – and maybe it is a sign of my bias as a reader, being interested in the shinier people, or maybe it’s just that Barker has more material she can use to build up a portrait of Richard II. However, Richard II dips in and out of the narrative, and it is the individual uprisings that take centre stage and it is easy to get lost in the wealth of information provided, the numerous names going past.
jaironside's review
5.0
I love Juliet Barker's work. Not only has she produced the finest biography of the Brontes, but her historical non fiction is always coherent, well ordered, intelligently argued and supported with facts. She never allows herself to be swayed by the received wisdom as regards the historical understanding of an event either, but instead seeks the most plausible answers backed up with meticulous research. Her account in England, Arise! of the Great Revolt of 1381 (colloquially known as the peasant's revolt) is no exception. Relying as it does on chronicles and tax records, it could have been a very dry read in less skilled hands. Instead we're given a lively account that forces us to question what we previously understood. This truly is excellent. I read this as research for a book I'm writing and it's a valuable resource. One I will reread before I'm done!
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