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5 Works 575 Members 17 Reviews

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

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This book was received from a Goodreads contest.

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.
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sprode | 1 other review | Mar 29, 2020 |
An enjoyable biography, and filled with the sort of details that made Catherine the Great, her many lovers, and many of her courtiers came alive. We are fortunate that Catherine maintained such a voluminous correspondence and did a great deal of personal writing, both of which the book liberally quoted. In addition, a large number of letters from foreign diplomats (especially the series of British ambassadors to her court) describing the details of life at court were preserved, and were also quoted from many times. The combination provided an excellent insight into how Catherine thought, the broader circumstances surrounding her activities, and how she approached what she considered her duties as Empress. For example, her letters describe how she decided to have herself and her children inoculated against smallpox at a time when the technique was uncommon and not without risks because she believed in taking selfless actions to improve the public health and to set a good example.

In addition, "the horse story" is a complete myth, and an autopsy showed that she actually died of a cerebral stroke

I appreciated how Rounding enhanced the readability of the book by using modern spellings, and using the name Catherine only for Catherine the Great (there were many other "Catherines" but the Russian spelling was used for clarity), and mostly omitted the patronymics (except for the royal family). Both of these made everything much easier to follow. In addition, she was careful to specify when she was using the old calendar to date events and when she was using the new calendar (Russia was still using the old calendar at that point, although most of the rest of Europe was using the new), so it was also easier to keep track of what happened when.
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Jennifer708 | 6 other reviews | Mar 21, 2020 |
An enjoyable biography, and filled with the sort of details that made Catherine the Great, her many lovers, and many of her courtiers came alive. We are fortunate that Catherine maintained such a voluminous correspondence and did a great deal of personal writing, both of which the book liberally quoted. In addition, a large number of letters from foreign diplomats (especially the series of British ambassadors to her court) describing the details of life at court were preserved, and were also quoted from many times. The combination provided an excellent insight into how Catherine thought, the broader circumstances surrounding her activities, and how she approached what she considered her duties as Empress. For example, her letters describe how she decided to have herself and her children inoculated against smallpox at a time when the technique was uncommon and not without risks because she believed in taking selfless actions to improve the public health and to set a good example.

In addition, "the horse story" is a complete myth, and an autopsy showed that she actually died of a cerebral stroke

I appreciated how Rounding enhanced the readability of the book by using modern spellings, and using the name Catherine only for Catherine the Great (there were many other "Catherines" but the Russian spelling was used for clarity), and mostly omitted the patronymics (except for the royal family). Both of these made everything much easier to follow. In addition, she was careful to specify when she was using the old calendar to date events and when she was using the new calendar (Russia was still using the old calendar at that point, although most of the rest of Europe was using the new), so it was also easier to keep track of what happened when.
… (more)
 
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Jennifer708 | 6 other reviews | Mar 21, 2020 |
Excellent book on the Protestants who were publicly burned for their faith during the times of Henry VIII, Edward and Mary I. The author lists their public burnings at the stake, and delves into the trials, often with conflicting charges, for people who broke the laws of England by not conforming to the established religions. A good inquiry into the differences between Catholic and Protestant beliefs, and why people believe the way they do, even to the death for their faith.
 
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hadden | 1 other review | Mar 18, 2018 |

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17
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