Page 93 - All About History - Issue 59-17

Reviews

lady fanshawE’s REcEipt booK:

thE lifE and timEs of a civil waR hERoinE

An ordinary woman in extraordinary time
Author Lucy Moore Publisher Atlantic Books Price £20 Released Out now
arriage was a seventeenth century passive players that we assume, but actually active
woman’s career” writes Lucy Moore, participants in a feminine sphere that fostered and
with respectable females anticipating nurtured relationships between families. This was
unions with well-connected, something that was particularly essential for the
“Mprosperous men, lived out in elegant Cavaliers, who would face years of hardship before
surroundings fit to fulfil their wifely and motherly Charles II’s supporters finally managed to bring an
duties. But in the chasm of the Civil War, England’s end to the Commonwealth and allow the king-in-
rocky foundations crumbled and all had to adapt to waiting to claim his throne in 1660.
a world with no clear future in sight. Ann hardly left her beloved diplomat husband
As a daughter and wife to servants of the crown, Richard’s side during the wars and the Protectorate,
Ann Fanshawe was a true Royalist and, as one moving with him from place to place, each slightly
might expect, her family endured years of peril worse than the place before it. They embarked on
trying to keep their cause’s flame alive. dangerous yet invigorating adventures and left
To piece together Ann’s dramatic life, author their imprint.
Lucy Moore consults not only her memoirs, but her Through this book, we gain valuable insight
receipt book — a carefully cultivated collection of into the wider Royalist circle with a dizzying
medicinal recipes shared by family and friends. It array of figures weaved into the narrative, rooted
was an essential handbook pointing to the wife’s in a depth of research dotted with exciting detail.
role as head of her household and, beyond that, a The result is an original work demonstrating the
benefactor to the community. skills that women of the time possessed and how
The result is a thrilling leap into one of England’s they utilised them to full effect to preserve their
most tumultuous eras, which convincingly families. What is clear is that wives had more
asserts that the women of the time were not the weight than might be believed.

Jonathan swift:

thE REluctant REbEl

The man who made Gulliver
Author John Stubbs Publisher Viking Books Price £11 Released Out now
onathan Swift was, allegedly, kidnapped rebuked and critiqued. His writings created
by his wet nurse and spirited away from challenging, disturbing images. In particular,
Ireland to England. He was, shockingly, Gulliver’s Travels, is one distinctly prominent
once confronted with a bomb hidden piece of work. But in making Gulliver, Swift
Jinside a band-box. And he was, famously, not only made a famous literary character — he
the man who made Gulliver. made his readers look at the world through a
The life of this Anglo-Irish satirist was as different pair of eyes. Swift’s work marked him
complicated as it was extraordinary, and the as a rebel, however reluctant he have been to
period in which he lived was turbulent and accept the moniker.
fraught with tension. The Reluctant Rebel In this tome, John Stubbs carefully explores
captures this, creating an extensive biography Swift’s life, written work, aforementioned
of a remarkable man and a detailed history rebellion and its corresponding reluctance.
of the world he inhabited. Swift’s life — his Stubbs paints a detailed and intricate portrait
family history, childhood, education and career with the lightest of brush strokes. The
— are all meticulously covered. The tangled narrative remains clear and engaging and its
relationships he formed with Esther Johnson scope is wide-ranging.
and Esther Vanhomrigh, whom he styled Naturally, this authoritative account is a
‘Stella’ and ‘Vanessa’ respectively, particularly must-read for those already interested in
stand out. These relationships are woven, or Swift’s life and work. However, Swift emerges
perhaps knotted, through the book and were from The Reluctant Rebel as a man at odds,
central to Swift’s complex life. perhaps at loggerheads, with the world. He is
But a further central aspect of Swift’s life an intriguing figure and it is likely that this
was, of course, his writing. His pen scorned, biography will have a broad appeal.

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