Me And My Big Mouth

The Glorious Stereo Reading Experiment: Edward Vallance Interview

In the final part of The Glorious Stereo Reading Experiment I am delighted to welcome Edward Vallance, author of The Glorious Revolution: 1688 - Britain's Fight for Liberty, to Me And My Big Mouth to answer some questions.

SP:  You have been following the Glorious Stereo Reading experiment on your blog, how did you come across it?

EV:  A fellow historical blogger, Nick at Mercurius Politicus, put up a very good post about making the most of your blog. One of his tips was to take a look at technorati - which I hadn't done before - where I came across your first post on the Glorious Stereo Reading Experiment.

SP:  And what have you made of it (please feel free to mention my amazing powers of deduction based on your author photo alone)?

EV:  I've very much enjoyed it. I think most authors would be grateful for the attention, especially for the amount of discussion of the books themselves, and, unless they really didn't have a sense of humour, would find your unerringly accurate comments about the author photos amusing.

SP:  When you were writing your book did you consider that your audience would include numpties like me or were you expecting a more academic readership?

EV:  The book was definitely targeted at a lay audience (or 'numpties' as you call them), though how successful it is in that regard is up to the readers. Some even found the Glorious Revolution a bit too 'racey', though other reviews felt it was still too geared towards an academic audience in places. I suppose all that shows you is that writing successful non-fiction for a general audience isn't easy.

SP:  I came to your book having read the remarkable Neal Stephenson novel Quicksilver, is that a book you have come across?

EV:  No, though it sounds interesting. Being a massive geek, I love science-fiction, steam-punk etc, although I actually don't read a lot of historical novels. Friends recommended An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears to me because I work on seventeenth-century history. I'm sure it's a good novel, but I just couldn't muster up any enthusiasm for it, probably because my recreational reading habits are pretty slovenly. Last summer I read the entirety of Frank Herbert's Dune saga, which should be a fairly clear indication that I don't have any literary taste. I like crime fiction, George Pelecanos, Donna Leon, Kinky Friedman and Sue Grafton are my personal favourites, as well as the classics, George V. Higgins, Hammett and Chandler especially.

SP:  So, what appeals to you about the Glorious Revolution and that period of history?

EV:  I think this is the one period in English history when you can say that really revolutionary things were going on, events which fundamentally changed the country and which generated what, for the time, were incredibly radical ideas about politics, religion and science. The Glorious Revolution is genuinely a turning point in the history of Britain as whole: this is when parliamentary sovereignty (for good or ill) is really established; when the empire really starts to take shape and when more modern conceptions of tolerance and liberty are formulated. You could put that lot in the 'plus' column. On the downside, the revolution actually leads to the loss of liberty for a lot of people: increasing numbers of Africans transported as slaves to the West Indies and the attack on the civil, religious and economic rights of the Catholic Irish, for example. It's an incredibly exciting, dynamic period in our history and people should know more about it. Unfortunately, it's also a period that has been served in the past by some stultifyingly dull history books which squeezed all the drama, intrigue, violence and sex out of it. My mission statement was really to inject some life into a period of history that had (unjustly) had the colour drained out of it.

SP:  Dish the dirt on Patrick Dillon.  Do you know him?  Is he aware of the experiment?  Does he live with his mum?

EV:  I think Patrick Dillon is a lavender-scented cry-baby, and if we had an arm-wrestle, I could snap his dainty piano-playing wrists like dry twigs. Was that what you were looking for? Actually, I've never met Patrick Dillon, so I've no idea whether he lives with his mum, or whether I could beat him in a fight.

SP:  How are you finding life as a blogger?

EV:  I really enjoy it and can't say I have had too many bad experiences as a result of starting a blog. The initial idea was to use it to publicise the next book (on which, see below), but I soon found that having the blog took me off in all sorts of other directions. It also introduced me to a community of historical bloggers who are doing really great things online. There's great potential here for sharing ideas and research, not only with fellow scholars but with a wider audience as well.

SP:  And what can we expect from you next?

EV:  My new book is A Radical History of Britain: Visionaries, Rebels and Revolutionaries - The Men and Women Who Fought for Our Freedoms , which will be coming out with Little, Brown in June next year. It offers a one volume history of key moments in British radicalism (the Levellers, the Diggers, Tom Paine, the Chartists and the Suffragettes are all in there.) The book covers a pretty broad sweep of British history, starting with King Alfred and the cakes and ending up with David Davis resigning over 42-day detention. What I hope readers get from this book is a sense of how much radical agitation has contributed to the freedoms that we enjoy today and, also, how important it is that we are not complacent about these liberties.

SP:  Finally, can you recommend a good book, and perhaps also a good CD we should all check out?

EV:  Hmmm, the last history book I read and really enjoyed was Nicoletta Gullace's The Blood of Our Sons which looks at how the Great War, and the activities of the suffragettes, changed contemporary understandings of British citizenship, leading to the enfranchisement of women in 1918. It's a very clever piece of work, which weaves together political and cultural history, and has some powerful resonances with the present day too. I'll add a non-history book: everyone should own a copy of Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned by Walter Mosley. Ok, the CD - I'm going to plug my friend Stevie's two bands, Stuffy and the Fuses and Local Girls. They're both great, though Local Girls are not for the easily offended!

Thanks to Ted, as I call him, for entering into the spirit of the whole experiment and for his enthusiastic support for the project over at his blog.  I suspect I will be reviewing his new book at some point next year.

And if you missed any of the Glorious Stereo Reading Experiment you can catch up here.

The Glorious Stereo Reading Experiment: The End Of The Line

It has taken a while but I have finally finished The Glorious Stereo Reading Experiment.  To remind you, as you may well have nodded off, I wanted to learn more about the Glorious Revolution after reading Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson.  The subject wasn't even touched upon during my schooling and there was a royal-sized gap in my knowledge. 

I had built up quite a stash of free books during my retail years and upon browsing the piles I found not one but two volumes tackling the subject.  I then decided to read them both in tandem to make absolutely sure I took it all in.  If you want to catch up on the previous instalments of the experiment you can do so here.

Over the past five months I have made stately progress with both books, teasing the authors about their photos, critiquing the covers, complaining about long chapters or picking them up when they go off on tangents but, overall, I have really enjoyed the experience.  I have certainly learned a great deal more by reading both accounts than if I had read just the one.

A successful experiment then.  But which one was the best?

The Last Revolution by Patrick Dillon is an accessible and informative history.  The author breaks the detail into bite-sized chunks which makes it all easier to digest.  But he also wanders off on tangents and follows the stories of a supporting cast when the mood takes him.  Sometimes this works well, an aside covering the property boom was fascinating and in context, but as the book progressed I found myself wishing he'd get on with the story, at times he seemed more interested in John Locke (a 17th century philosopher) than he did with either Kings William or James.

All that being said the book certainly did the job and I feel suitably enlightened regarding the subjects he covered.  It is, however, a book which starts much better than it ends.  In fact, the end was a real disappointment.  It just sort of fizzles out.  There is no real epilogue and there are loose ends flying all over the place.  You aren't told what happens to William or his immediate successor.  I felt cheated.

Edward Vallance's The Glorious Revolution presents the events in a very different style.  Vallance is a storyteller and, I am guessing, a frustrated (or budding) novelist.  His chapters are longer and have more narrative drive.  At times this got on my nerves as there was a lot to take in without the chance for a breather but, as the book went on, I got used to it and his vibrant and engaging style began to win me round.

Where he really wins though is that he actually bothers to write an ending.  Once Mary dies he looks at the rest of William's reign right up to his death by molehill and even then gives the reader a decent summary of Anne's years on the throne to ensure things are rounded off nicely.  It is the more complete book.

Both are good books and either would fulfil your Glorious Revolution needs but my preference is for the Vallance.

(Cue much celebration over at Vallance's blog).

The Glorious Stereo Reading Experiment: Those Pesky Celts

When we last looked in on the Glorious Revolution James had buggered off to France and William was locked in a series of dull discussions with politicians as to how he should succeed to the throne.

Well, it appears that James didn't stay away for long.  Not quite stupid enough to pop up in the middle of Westminster demanding his old job back he tries instead to sneak in the back door via Ireland.  His master plan was probably to re-establish himself there as king before having a go at Scotland and then, with a bit of luck, finally claim back the English throne.

All of which proved to be a tad annoying for the newly crowned William who wasn't universally popular and certainly wasn't universally accepted by his new subjects.  If James was able to gain a foothold in Ireland then there was a real chance he could make a Take That style comeback.

So William went over to Ireland for a fight.  The fisticuffs culminated in the Battle of the Boyne which William won due to more nosebleeds and some chronically bad tactics from James who promptly shagged off back to France again.  The battle is commemorated to this day by a bunch of Protestant stiffs dressed as accountants with orange sashes marching through the middle of towns in order to annoy the Catholics.  Or something like that.

I hope I have got most of the above about right, after all, I have read it twice.

First time round it was Patrick Dillon with The Last Revolution .  Dillon writes in short chapters and often wanders off to tell the personal stories of individuals or to focus in on one aspect of the history.  These asides are generally interesting, some are fascinating, but they do take you away from the main story.

Edward Vallance, in The Glorious Revolution, writes a more linear narrative but you have to buckle up for the ride as his chapters are much longer and there is little chance to come up for air.

I make these observations as someone who is mildly OCD when it comes to books.  I don't like closing a book mid-chapter.  It feels wrong.  With the Dillon book it is easy to wrap things up, each chapter being a few pages long, perhaps ten at the most.  When it comes to Vallance they are more like thirty or forty pages.  Perhaps not such a big deal, you may be thinking, but forty pages of history means a lot of facts to take in.

It is a good job I am doing it in stereo.

And that has been the real advantage to the stereo reading experiment.  I read a great deal of fiction, and fiction lends itself to a certain pace and style of reading.  You are trying to absorb plot, character, atmosphere and language.  But with non-fiction you need to pay attention to dates, chronology, fact and figures.  It is a different kind of reading.  Skim a few pages of a history book and you could miss a vital point that renders the rest meaningless.  But realistically you cannot possibly take everything in.

So, by reading two books on the same subject in relay I really feel I have been able to retain greater amounts of information and learn more in the process.  I may report back in my usual flippant style via these blog posts but I must be honest and say that the doubling up has really helped me to understand the subject.

As for which of the two books I prefer, it very much depends on my mood.  If I have an hour or two available then the narrative, almost novelistic style of Vallance can really sweep me away.  But if I am just dipping in then the staccato chapters of Dillon's book are more useful. Both are giving me the same information but in different ways.

We are, you will be delighted to learn, nearing the end now.  James won't be coming back and it just remains for William and Mary to rule for a while and then, presumably, die.  Let's see how the authors finish things off.

The Glorious Stereo Reading Experiment: The Square Excrement / Round Fundament Question

My next chunk of reading in glorious stereo covered the flight of James II from England and the early days of William's reign.

I dipped into The Glorious Revolution by Edward Vallance first.  He covers the period in two chapters.  In the first, given over to James shitting himself and doing a runner, he really captures the sense of fear, paranoia and urgency surrounding the fleeing monarch when he legs it for the first time.  The king's shock at discovering his daughter Anne's defection - 'God help me.  My own children have forsaken me.' - is a particularly striking moment.

His second, and successful, attempt to leave was at William's behest.  The Prince of Orange made it quite clear that the safety of the king could no longer be guaranteed.  So he buggered off to France.

The story drags a bit, perhaps inevitably, when we get into the politics of William taking to the throne.  I get frustrated at modern politicians waffling, procrastinating and covering their own arses but their 17th century counterparts were just as bad.  No one could quite work out how to handle William's succession.  Should they assume that James had abdicated?  Was he usurped?  Should Mary be monarch and William her consort (they'd never consider such an idea today, surely)?  These political shenanigans are amusing but do halt the narrative somewhat.

Things pick up towards the end of this section when Vallance explores the news and gossip culture of pamphlets and coffee houses.  I chuckled throughout the day having read a quote from a newspaper letters page where one curious reader asked 'Why a Horse with a round Fundament emits a square Excrement?'.  Quite.

In The Last Revolution Patrick Dillon tackles pretty much the same facts in the same order, but somehow doesn't quite manage to convey the same level of drama and excitement.  All the information is there, it just feels a little dry.  Of course, part of this may be down to the fact that I was reading an account of proceedings for the second time but I am finding that the only real side-effect of this stereo reading mullarkey is a positive one - the facts are really sinking in.

So to recap, as it is taking me months to read these blighters.  I like the short, punch chapters that Dillon delivers but Vallance is more of a story teller.  Both books are actually very good but Vallance is in the lead at the moment.

The Glorious Stereo Reading Experiment: Put Your Head Between Your Legs, Sire

Just to recap, as it has been a while.

Having read the novel Quicksilver I was made aware of the huge gap in my knowledge of the Glorious Revolution. I then discovered that I had two books on the subject on my shelves.

I am now, and at considerable leisure, reading both of them and sporadically reporting back.  You can read the posts to date by clicking right here.

When I last updated I was having trouble understanding the Test Act but got over that hurdle and history has gathered apace.  The next chunk of reading has taken me right up to William of Orange landing in England with his invasion force.

So how do the two books fare in explaining these crucial historical events?

Edward Vallance had the honour this time round with his book The Glorious Revolution and he took me from the Test Act to the invasion in one chapter, actually his shortest chapter to date.  It cracked along at a fair clip and I found myself swept up in the excitement of it all.  There was a real pace to the writing, it almost read like a novel, and I never once felt out of my depth.  I put the book down at the end of the chapter rather unwillingly.  I was keen to read more.

But I had to give Patrick Dillon and his book The Last Revolution a chance to tell me the same thing.  He did so over several short chapters, a format I prefer, but in this instance it didn't quite work.  Vallance had me enthralled in the story, Dillon kept interrupting the main narrative with little asides.  These asides were interesting, and really help to flesh out the history surrounding the story, but I did find myself urging him to get on with it.  Having tasted the excitement of the first book I felt a bit stalled with the second.

I guess that the shorter chapters, and the frequent diversions into background info on other subjects, works well when setting up the story but when a portion of the tale has sufficient excitement and momentum of its own it pays to keep it intact.

So we leave both books with William marching up from the south west and James getting all flaky.  The poor bloke keeps getting nosebleeds and really can't cope with the stress.

He'll be doing a runner soon, I bet.

The Glorious Stereo Reading Experiment: Holding Page

I haven't forgotten, there is just quite a bit of other reading to do.  A further instalment will be posted shortly.

But I do have an exciting development to report.  Edward Vallance, author of The Glorious Revolution, has agreed to be interviewed for the blog so I will be making careful notes during this next round of reading and shall interrogate him accordingly.

The Glorious Stereo Reading Experiment: Background Viewing

More or less by accident I have been enjoying various forms of entertainment which link or relate to the events preceding and parallel with the Glorious Revolution.

I have just finished watching a most enjoyable film called To Kill A King.  I am sure it rides roughshod over the facts but as a lightweight and accessible sketch of Cromwell's rise it is good fun and adds some colour to the biographical notes and reference entries I have been dipping into as I attempt to remedy my ignorance of all things Glorious.

Tim Roth plays Oliver Cromwell, warts and all, in a compellingly ugly performance.  Dougray Scott is Thomas Fairfax and carries the film with a certain star swagger.  I have always had a soft spot for Olivia Williams and she puts in a fine turn as Lady Fairfax.  Rupert Everett continues in his monopoly of royal Charleses as the doomed monarch.  Intelligent without being overly dour.  I would pitch it as halfway between the two Shekhar Kapur Elizabeth movies; not as impressive and magnificent as the first, far more believable and impressive than the second.

I am also reaching the end of a cracking novel.  The Sun King Rises centres around the events of 1661 in France.  Not directly related to the Glorious Revolution but certainly connected in some ways and I feel very proud of myself when I recognise certain references or links.  It is a real page-turner full of courtly intrigue and religious conspiracies.  Far superior to The Da Vinci Code (which I hasten to add I thoroughly enjoyed) and deserving of a wider audience.  Well worth seeking out if you like a good historical thriller.  A full review to follow once I have finished it.

The Glorious Stereo Reading Experiment: Test Act Special

TGSRE took a back seat for a couple of weeks while I was on holiday and we were setting up the new incarnation of The Friday Project but I picked up both books again this week and got stuck in.

Or perhaps it would be fairer to say that I got stuck.

The Test Act is to blame.  It confused me.  Reading Edward Vallance's version of events in The Glorious Revolution had me bogged down and I must confess I lost track of what the Test Act was or why it was so important.  I could tell it was a Protestant/Catholic thing but clearly I hadn't been paying attention earlier on.  Anyway, James wanted to repeal them and the politicians got jolly annoyed.  That's as far as I got.

And then I turned to Patrick Dillon's The Last Revolution and all was revealed.  The Test Act was a law that kept Catholics out of public office.  James wanted Catholics back in public office.  In fact he wanted tolerance of all religions (but what were his motives?).  It still pissed off the Protestant majority.

I am beginning to think I am just thick and need to read two accounts of each major event before it sinks it.  And it is sinking in as a result so that is a good thing.

Vallance's long chapters scuppered me this time.  There is a great deal to digest and if you slip up along the way, like I did, it can be hard to get back into the swing of things.

Dillon's short chapters are easier to consume, and also offer interesting digressions into other areas and back stories which help to get you in the mood.  Set the tone.

So this time round I found the Dillon the better read, which is pretty much the reverse of my last session.  So honours are probably even overall.

I think things are about to kick off back in 1688 so will report back next week.  In the meantime you can keep track of the full experiment here.

The Glorious Stereo Reading Experiment: Bastards & Beheadings

Right, I am about 50 or so pages into both books and feel suitably briefed on the preamble to the Glorious Revolution.  Remember, I knew nothing about this historical event before reading these so I was an empty vessel, a blank slate.

(If you don't know what I am going on about then click here for an explanation).

Last Revolution.  I am enjoying the short chapters.  It helps my tiny brain absorb and digest the information.  It also allows to author to wander off in little self-encapsulated digressions.  So there is a piece on the London property market and how it influenced the times.  Another on the emergence of the Netherlands (or the United Provinces as they were then).  These chunks of background guff, isolated as they are in their own chapters, are very useful.

However, that didn't stop me getting very confused by the murder of Edmund Godfrey and the Rye House Plot - there are just too many names!

I fared better with the Monmouth Rebellion and William has just married Mary so things are hotting up nicely.

Glorious Revolution.  Vallance has opted for more meaty chapters which certainly makes for a flowing narrative but doesn't allow me much space to pause and process what I am reading.  That being said it is fascinating to see what he covers in the build up to the main events compared to Dillon.  So we are treated to much more on the Monmouth Rebellion and I appreciated that, but perhaps because my appetite had already been whetted by the Dillon morsel.  He was also able to unconfuse me about Edmund Godfrey, although don't ask me to explain the Rye House Plot as I would probably fail.

In summary then, I am finding the Patrick Dillon book easier to navigate and digest but Edward Vallance is sweeping me up in the story a bit more.  How much of this is down to the order I am reading them remains to be seen so I will mix it up a bit.

Both authors can relax as they have a week off while I swan around the Isle of Wight.  I bet they are relieved.

The Glorious Stereo Reading Experiment: My Columbo Moment

Read this first.

And then this.

Columbo would be proud.

The Glorious Stereo Reading Experiment: First Impressions

I am about to embark upon the possibly pointless experiment of reading two books on the Glorious Revolution at the same time so I thought I should take a closer look at them before I start.

Both books are available in paperback but my copies are hardback so I am not going to taking them with me on the train or sticking them in my back pocket.  These will be armchair and garden reading only.

Anyway, here are the contenders for the prize of BEST BOOK ON THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION IN MY HOUSE.  Let's take a closer look.

The Covers

   

Glorious has gone for the celeb angle by chucking a couple of kings on the front.  If I am not mistaken we have James II on the left and William III on the right.  Both are sporting fine Brian May wigs.  It is the OK or Heat magazine of the two.  Bodes well for gossip, sex and cellulite.  7/10.

Last, on the other hand, appears to have plumped for a more general, historic, moment in history assemblage with boats and hoards.  Very TLS or BBC History magazine.  Serious, but will it prove a bit dull?  6/10.

The Stats

Glorious is 371 pages long with 1 set of colour plates.  There are 9 chapters of 30 or so pages each.  6/10.

Last is a bit longer at 449 pages but with shorter chapters, 45 in all, and two colour plate sections.  7/10.

The Author Photos

Edward Vallance, author of Glorious, is on the left.  He looks like an ex-skinhead in a Ben Sherman shirt.  He exudes a quiet coolness with perhaps a slight undertone of violence (if provoked).  He probably owns a few records by The Fall.  What on earth is he doing writing history books?  And it is me or is there just a hint of Matthew McFadyen about him?  7/10.

Patrick Dillon, on the other hand, could have been a chess grandmaster if he put his mind to it and probably plays the piano.  Clearly someone who can be trusted on matters 17th century.  7/10.

Educated thug versus geek.  Ed would beat Pat in a fight, but has he written a better book?

The Findings

Glorious is the shorter and the author looks like he can handle himself but Last has brief, punchy chapters which should make for an easier read.  Hard to pick between them at the moment and it is a dead heat with 20 points each before I have read a word.

I will report back once I have made a start on both.

The Glorious Stereo Reading Experiment

You will have realised that I was quite taken with Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson and that I have been inspired to read a bunch of books linked to the 17th century storyline.

One subject I desperately need to read up on is the so-called Glorious Revolution of 1688.  I knew absolutely nothing about it before reading Stephenson's novel.  I have an O Level in History, grade B as I recall, and not once in my primary or secondary school education was it mentioned.  Not a word.

Fortunately, during my years of stockpiling interesting non-fiction when it was sent my way I find myself in possession of not one, but two books on the subject.

The first is The Last Revolution: 1688 And The Creation Of The Modern World by Patrick Dillon.  The other is by Edward Vallance and goes by the name of The Glorious Revolution: 1688 - Britain's Fight For Liberty.

But which one should I read?

I have decided, partly as amusing blog experiment and partly because I can, to read both books at the same time.  Not at exactly the same time, you understand, that would be insane, but to relay between the two in instalments.  I think it could be fascinating to see how two different writers tackle the same subject.  I realise people do this all the time when researching stuff, but I haven't so this is my chance.

Updates on the experiment will appear here.