A Blow At The Serpent Or A Gentle Answer From Maidstone Prison To Appease Wrath Advancing Itself Against Truth And Peace At Rochester Together With The Work Of Four Days Disputes In The Cathedral Of Rochester Between Several Ministers And Richard Coppin Preacher There Etc

Edward Watson of Lyddington, Rutland County, a member of an ancient family, was a justice of the peace and a "surveyor general." He and his wife, Emma Smith, are said to have been the parents of fifteen children; seven are listed in his will. When he died in 1530, he held leases on a half a dozen parsonages and several "lordships, lands, and tenements" and was lord of some fourteen manors. The Watsons of Rockingham Castle were his descendants.

Under the influence of "revisionist" writings the history of the English Civil War has splintered. This is not to say that there was once consensus on how the revolution should be characterized or interpreted, but revisionism has now carved out different aspects of historical experience--such as economic, social, political, religious, and cultural--that once tended to be bound together. This book does not attempt to turn back the clock, nor to recreate what was undoubtedly in part a false coherence. But it does in fact suggest ways in which some of the starker discontinuities should be challenged. The editors maintain that reconnections should be made regarding the causes, course, and impact of the Civil War, and the pieces in this book aim to do so without without losing sight of the complexity of the issues at hand. Moreover, these articles afford some of the most stimulating writing on this topic to appear in the last twenty-five years.

Till the researches of modern historians proved the contrary, a widespread belief existed in this country that the accession of Elizabeth was hailed by the majority of the nation as the deliverance of an enthralled and coerced people from the bondage of Home. In view, however, of known facts, even hostile critics are forced to admit that the final establishment of the tenets of the Heformation ill England was the outcome of a slow process of evolution-assisted, it is true, by a protestant legislature and several favorable local circumstances, but still an evolution-which lasted the greater part of a century. At the outset, little if anything presaged the ultimate and mighty change. The Queen received the congratulations of the episcopate with approbation and caused Masses to be duly sung for her sister's soul. In her own domestic chapel she continued to be present at the angnst sacrifice of the Catholic Church, frequently availed herself of Confession, manifested respect for sacred images and pictures, and was I indulgent to the affectionate practice of praying for the souls of the departed.' In a word, she showed by her whole demeanour her resolution of abiding by her solemn oath to the late Queen' to live and die a true Roman Catholic.'

Kaeti and her companions inhabit a strange world; a 'theatre of the mind' where the unexpected is commonplace, where ghosts, vampires and even the odd goddess may be encountered at any turn. It is a tribute to the author's skill that Kaeti's world seems, at all times, as real as our own, sometimes uncomfortably so. Whether satirising the mores of the Thames Valley or exposing the curious antics of the publishing world, Roberts is equally at home. He explores the gamut of human emotions; high comedy alternates with terror, the most delicate of love scenes are set against the iron dreariness of Death Row. Always though, at the focus, is Kaeti; witty and resourceful, resilient and vulnerable by turns. Some characters may change their roles with lightning speed, like the players i n a repertory company - but Kaeti remains. As does London. Robert always displays a knowledge of a city haunted by its own past, and a love for its highways and byways, that will surprise old fans and win him many new admirers.

This volume contains essays by leading authorities of the period and is divided into three sections entitled: 'Theology in Revolutionary England'; 'Inside and Outside the Revolutionary National Church'; and 'Local Impacts of Religious Revolution'.