Something In The Air (15)
Olivier Assayas's film on the aftermath of May 1968 is infantile ultra-leftism
Jingoism and war-worship must be overcome
JOE GLENTON explains his need to respond to a world that is unsustainably divided
La Boheme
ENO's production of La Boheme is a triumph,
Language of the Levellers
The Levellers by Geoffrey Robertson
Sunday 25 November 2007
Printable
EmailKING Charles I is in the custody of the victorious Roundhead army. Success for the cause of Parliament. But what is to be done now?
This book reprints the various "remonstrances" and "petitions" written by soldiers and civilians seeking to set a blueprint for the future of a democratic England. It also includes the official responses to these radical pamphlets.
The most interesting section is the actual transcripts of the debates chaired by Oliver Cromwell that took place in a church in Putney. The official army position was laid out and the "agents" - army rank and file representatives - put their case.
The victors of these debates can perhaps be guessed from the fact that they were abandoned and the soldiers sent back to their regiments.
Not perhaps the most readable of books in that the 1647 language has not been updated, but, for anyone interested in what happens after a revolution, this is a must.
It's also a nice change to read about a revolution other than the Russian one. Ordinary people were trying to chart the future of their country 270 years before 1917.
An essential book for those studying the English revolution and, at £7.99, open to the casual reader as well.
MIKE CATTELL
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