Virginia Rounding
Author of Catherine the Great: Love, Sex, and Power
About the Author
Virginia Rounding lives in London where, in addition to being an author, book critic, and clerk to a City of London guild, she recently held a three-year Royal Literary Fund Fellowship at the Courtauld Institute of Art. She is the author of the critically acclaimed Catherine the Great and Grandes show more Horizontales. show less
Image credit: My photo
Works by Virginia Rounding
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Rounding, Virginia
- Birthdate
- 1950
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- UK
- Places of residence
- Hoxton, Middlesex, England, UK
- Education
- Merchant Taylors's School for Girls, Great Crosby, England, UK
School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London - Occupations
- administrator
author
writing coach
Members
Reviews
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Statistics
- Works
- 5
- Members
- 575
- Popularity
- #43,589
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 17
- ISBNs
- 22
- Languages
- 1
The Burning Time is a very educational insight to a tumultuous time in English history, where the whims of leaders are the difference between life and death. I had learned the gist of Henry VIII's marriage foibles in study before, so I'm glad that this book provides me the opportunity to see it from a ground level.
The juxtaposition of John Deane and Richard Rich provides an intriguing driving force. Despite being positioned on either side of the divide, both the Catholic and the feckless member of Henry's regime found themselves irrevocably embroiled in England's troubles. Both friends and enemies burned, so their lives also serve as a reminder of the link shared by two opposing faiths.
The tone of the book is scholarly, but it is still engaging enough to keep me turning the pages. The events portrayed in this book constitute horrible reminders of the worst of humanity, where faith, interpretation, and selfishness lead to the brutal martyrdom of scores of citizens, rich and poor, young and old, famous or obscure. Given what the world looks like in 2017, the Smithfield burnings aren't that far off after all. The message resonates as strongly as ever, and everyone owes it to themselves to read it and think.… (more)