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Friends in Youth: Choosing Sides in the English Civil War
At the Inns of Court, the intellectual, literary, and social heart of early 17th century London, many pivotal friendships were few closer than that of Bulstrode Whitelocke and Edward (Ned) Hyde. Both young men were lively characters, industrious, well-connected, principled and optimistic. They dreamed of reforming the government of Charles I, a young court with age-old problems, by restoring the traditional harmony of Crown and Parliament. This is the story of how their hopes climbed, overreached, and fell into an abyss of relentless civil war.
This highly original, vivid and engaging book recreates the atmosphere, drama, players and ideas of what is arguably England’s (and Britain’s) most crucial and traumatic formative period. Through the stories of his two protagonists, Minoo Dinshaw shows how subtle religious and political differences, careful personal judgments, and mere happenstance combined to place these two friends, most reluctantly, on opposite sides in the English Civil Wars. They would both survive, unlike many thousands of others, into old age; both would become influential historians, shaping how we still understand the conflicts of their age. But their friendship, like the once hopeful country in which it had first flourished, would be forever permanently marred by what both men believed to be senseless and unnecessary civil strife.
This highly original, vivid and engaging book recreates the atmosphere, drama, players and ideas of what is arguably England’s (and Britain’s) most crucial and traumatic formative period. Through the stories of his two protagonists, Minoo Dinshaw shows how subtle religious and political differences, careful personal judgments, and mere happenstance combined to place these two friends, most reluctantly, on opposite sides in the English Civil Wars. They would both survive, unlike many thousands of others, into old age; both would become influential historians, shaping how we still understand the conflicts of their age. But their friendship, like the once hopeful country in which it had first flourished, would be forever permanently marred by what both men believed to be senseless and unnecessary civil strife.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
519 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 30, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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February 26, 2025Minoo Dinshaw’s Friends in Youth is an original take on the issues that divided friends and families in the opening stages of the English Civil Wars. The story unfolds around the formation and dissolution of the Great Tew Circle connected to the aristocrat and intellectual Lucius Cary. As a young man fresh out of university in the 1630s, Cary counted the jurist John Selden, the theologian William Chillingworth, and the poet Edmund Waller among his intimates, as well as many other luminaries including Ben Jonson.
The ever observant John Aubrey later described Cary’s home at Great Tew as ‘like a Colledge, full of Learned men’. The group that gathered there and in London was characterised by scepticism about religious dogma and toleration of differing political viewpoints. As Dinshaw demonstrates, they were to be divided by their Civil War allegiances, although they were united in their desire for peace and accommodation. As secretary of state, Cary represented the moderates in Charles I’s early war councils, but lost his life tragically (and vaingloriously) as a royalist volunteer at the first Battle of Newbury in 1643.
Read the rest of the review at https://www.historytoday.com/archive/...
Jackie Eales is President of the British Association for Local History and Professor of Early Modern History at Canterbury Christ Church University.
The ever observant John Aubrey later described Cary’s home at Great Tew as ‘like a Colledge, full of Learned men’. The group that gathered there and in London was characterised by scepticism about religious dogma and toleration of differing political viewpoints. As Dinshaw demonstrates, they were to be divided by their Civil War allegiances, although they were united in their desire for peace and accommodation. As secretary of state, Cary represented the moderates in Charles I’s early war councils, but lost his life tragically (and vaingloriously) as a royalist volunteer at the first Battle of Newbury in 1643.
Read the rest of the review at https://www.historytoday.com/archive/...
Jackie Eales is President of the British Association for Local History and Professor of Early Modern History at Canterbury Christ Church University.
April 2, 2025
"Friendships, like nations, can be torn apart by war." In Friends in Youth: Choosing Sides in the English Civil War, Minoo Dinshaw masterfully explores the personal and political turmoil of 17th-century England through the lives of Bulstrode Whitelocke and Edward Hyde. Once inseparable at the Inns of Court, their shared dream of reforming the monarchy crumbles as they are drawn to opposing sides of the brutal conflict. Dinshaw brings the era to life with vivid storytelling, offering insight into how personal loyalties, religious tensions, and political shifts shaped the war’s outcome. Through meticulous research and engaging prose, he highlights how even the closest of friendships can fall victim to the sweeping forces of history. A compelling read for history enthusiasts, this book captures the tragedy of civil war—not just on the battlefield, but in the hearts of those who once stood together.
August 6, 2025
A really useful book for anyone interested in 17th-century history, particularly the events during King Charles I's reign and the Civil War.
Bulstrode Whitelocke and Edward 'Ned' Hyde forged a friendship during their years at the Inns of Court, the intellectual, literary and social heart of London, whilst studying law.
Both became Members of Parliament only to find themselves reluctantly on opposing sides of the Civil War, which changed the country forever by what both men believed to be senseless and unnecessary civil strife.
Minoo Dinshaw tells their story from these two men's histories, which were published many years later, and the role they played in the attempts to restore harmony between the Crown and Parliament.
Can't help noticing the coincidence that I finished the book on what was Bulstrode Whitelocke's 420th birthday! He was born 6 August 1605.
Bulstrode Whitelocke and Edward 'Ned' Hyde forged a friendship during their years at the Inns of Court, the intellectual, literary and social heart of London, whilst studying law.
Both became Members of Parliament only to find themselves reluctantly on opposing sides of the Civil War, which changed the country forever by what both men believed to be senseless and unnecessary civil strife.
Minoo Dinshaw tells their story from these two men's histories, which were published many years later, and the role they played in the attempts to restore harmony between the Crown and Parliament.
Can't help noticing the coincidence that I finished the book on what was Bulstrode Whitelocke's 420th birthday! He was born 6 August 1605.
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December 15, 2025Struggled with the prose. Deeply researched and thoughtful though.
February 6, 2026
Very thoroughly researched but dry and I am a history buff. Maybe just not my thing
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews