London in Chains: An English Civil War Novel

English Civil War #1

by Gillian Bradshaw

An English Civil War novel from a highly-acclaimed author - London, 1647. Lucy Wentor, a young lady who was attacked by soldiers during the civil war, and then rejected by her sweetheart, hopes to start her life afresh in the capital with her uncle and aunt. London, however, is in chaos and her once well-to-do uncle is now almost bankrupt. Unwilling to go home, Lucy finds a job in publishing and excitement, love and independence soon follow.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, 17th Century, Romance, English Civil War, British Literature

214 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2009

About the author

Born in Arlington, Virgina, Gillian Bradshaw grew up in Washington, Santiago, Chile and Michigan. She is a Classics graduate from Newnham College, Cambridge, and published her first novel, Hawk of May, just before her final term. A highly acclaimed historical novelist, Gillian Bradshaw has won the Hopwood Award for Fiction, among other prizes. She lives in Cambridge with her husband and their four children.

Reviews

[Ozymandias]

I am a huge fan of Gillian Bradshaw's novels but I have noticed a steep decline in quality starting in the mid-'00s. Her writing seemed to me to be increasingly perfunctory and lacked the breathless enthusiasm of her earlier work. This may account for her apparent retirement. Since 2004 she has written three okay novels, four mostly bad ones, and these two. So as you can imagine I approached this book with a fair degree of trepidation.

To my great delight it was entirely unwarranted. Perhaps it is simply that researching a new era has reinvigorated her, but this book read as well as any of her early ones and far better than anything else she's written within five years in either direction. Seventeenth-century England comes majestically to life in all its "glory" and we get a real feel for the workings of society. Lucy is a Leveller, a term used as slander to attack people whose political beliefs were not too different from those of today - power comes from the consent of the governed and all (or at least all men) should get a vote regardless of property. And there is an awful lot of this discussed. Truthfully, you could get a pretty good view of the ideals of the English Civil War (or technically the period after the First Civil War) from reading this book. And I like that she makes her characters partisan. Cromwell is one of the big villains, yet most of that evil comes from how others interpret his actions. I happen to really like Cromwell but there's nothing he does here that seems truly out of character for him.

Like all her best work this book is a cultural study. Her real strength has always been in depicting class and social relationships. What did people believe, how did people behave, and what were the issues that animated them? These are the questions being addressed here. And well I think. The treatment of women is as awful as you might expect, though not in quite the same ways as in Greek/Roman times. The sense of repression and intense devotion feels spot on to what works I've read from the period. Being a Puritan was no fun. The world is a paranoid one with little room for heroism. Everyone seems, fittingly, to be radicalized by out-of-control fringe media. Hmm. Lessons for today in there.

The language used also came as a surprise. Bradshaw's usually a fairly stilted writer, at least in dialogue, but here it didn't really seem so. I mean, it is stilted obviously since it'd be impossible to write a 17th-century story that wasn't. But it flows more naturally and feels more like people talking and less like someone writing retroactively about how they spoke. That said, it's not quite 17th century in form. The word choices are but the grammar feels a bit more modern. I'm fine with that. A book written in proper 17th-century English would not have a broad appeal.

Having finished this book I'm very excited about the sequel. I'd written off getting this excited again about any unread books of Bradshaw's. It was evidently premature. She's just as confident writing about the English Civil War as she was writing about Greeks and Romans. If she truly was as ignorant as she claims at the beginning of her research she's done a truly phenomenal job fixing that lack. I enjoyed the characters, found the setting and societal observations on point, and liked the pro-female underdog story both exciting and believable. The plot may be a turn off for some people since there's not much of it, but read the book for its journey and you'll find yourself amply rewarded. It reminded me a lot of The Beacon at Alexandria - a young woman trying to make her way up in society by her expertise in a specific skill. In that case as a doctor, in this case as a printer. And since that will likely remain the best of all her books that's high praise indeed.

[Misfit]

It's 1647 and the "first" Civil War between King and Parliament is over - and London is seething with politics and seditious printers. After an attack on the family farm by soldiers Lucy Wentnor has lost both her dowry and her innocence, and her father brings her to London to live with her uncle Thomas and his parsimonious wife Agnes. Agnes intends to use Lucy as an unpaid servant in the household, but our independent miss manages to find herself a job assisting a printer - and when he is thrown in jail she takes over the operation herself along with the inherent dangers that come with operating an illegal press. Soon caught up in the political agendas of the varying factions (King, Parliament, Covenanters, Cromwell) as well as torn between the two men who lover her, Lucy dances a fine line to keep herself out of prison and independence intact.

While certainly not the be-all to end-all novels that deal with this period, I did like the fact that it focused on a very narrow window (between the two major phases of the wars) as well as how the author used Lucy's involvement in the printing business to make some of the various political parties easier to understand. This is a very short novel at just over 200 pages and doesn't get as in-depth with the characters as I would normally prefer in a book. I enjoyed Lucy's story, but I didn't find myself sitting on the edge of my seat wanting to know what happened next either. If you are interested in this period and already have some knowledge going in I would recommend this but for those new to the period I'd recommend starting elsewhere, either Pamela Belle's Wintercombe series or the The Moon in the Water trilogy.

[Margaret]

A milkmaid from Leicestershire, Lucy Wentnor is sent to her uncle and aunt in London after being attacked by Civil War soldiers and rejected by her betrothed. Wishing to contribute her share to her uncle's household, she takes a dangerous position at a radical printing press and is soon caught up in political and personal turmoil.

Bradshaw is out of her usual period here, and it shows. She's obviously done her usual meticulous research, but the way she weaves in the historical details is oddly clunky, drawing attention away from the story rather than adding depth to it. The characterization is also rather thin, and although I liked hotheaded Lucy, I was never really convinced of her too-quick radicalization. I liked the romance, but I wanted more time for it to develop. I think it's time for me to lower my expectations of Bradshaw; I still find her books reasonably good, but she hasn't written one in years that I think is even close to the Byzantine trilogy or The Sand-Reckoner.

[Stephanie]

Smart, fierce, and wounded country girl Lucy Wentnor travels to big, bad London in the middle of the UK Civil War...and discovers independence, politics, an exciting career and a really wonderful, understated romance. I loved this book, and I can't wait to read the sequel!

Perfect for anyone who loves the historical parts of Susanna Kearsley's novels.

[Gregory House]

Excellent story
The English Civil War is an evocative period in English history, it possesses all the high drama rancorous politics and family divisions beloved by writers and filmmakers for plot and characters. Due to this we’ve had a truck loads of the usual romances where in a dashing cavalier rescues a threatened (beautiful) heiress from a menacing and dour roundhead. Ho hum tedious predictable and boring. But not so with this novel Gillian Bradshaw has opted for the more interesting a realistic portrayal of a common English girl who suffers from the dread deeds and degradations of war and isn’t dashingly rescued. However Lucy does take her life and future in her own hands and forges her own unique position in the ferment of Parliamentary London. I was extremely impressed with this story as it concentrates on the actions of common people after the First Civil War to gain a government in Parliament that will serve them and not its own interests. Lucy is an excellent witness to the tumult and division as she is caught up in the push to free John Lilburne arrested by Parliament for advocating suffrage for the common man. I commend this story to anyone looking for a good historical novel or who wants to gain an exceptional view of an exciting period. I can’t wait to reading the second in this series.
Regards Gregory House
The Liberties of London

[Sara]

In her latest historical fiction novel, Gillian Bradshaw explores the English Civil War through the eyes of a young farmgirl named Lucy Wentor. Having been assaulted by soldiers and tired of being a constant reminder to her family of their failure to protect her, Lucy travels to London where she hopes to take shelter with her wealthy uncle and aunt. However, her uncle’s finances have been strained and destroyed by the war, and her aunt makes it clear that the household has no room for charity. In an attempt to earn her keep, Lucy finds herself stitching pamphlets for an underground printer, and soon becomes engrossed in the printing process and the ideas they print.

Bradshaw is well known for her meticulously researched and descriptive historical fiction, and this is a prime example. The opening chapter paints a bleak, gritty, gloomy picture of the London which greets Lucy, yet she still finds it new and exhilarating. Bradshaw’s characters provoke emotion, especially Lucy’s aunt Agnes, a bitter and angry woman mourning the loss of her children. My personal ignorance of the English Civil War made it a bit of a challenge to understand the various historical players and events in the novel, but this is no fault of the author or her writing.

[CLM]

Attacked and raped by soldiers when she went to milk the cows in the barn of her father's freehold, then rejected by her fiance as a fallen woman, Lucy takes refuge with a kindly uncle and his bitter wife in London in this 17th century historical novel. She is hurt to find she is being welcomed to help the maid rather than as a family member so jumps at the chance at paid employment by a local printer. Soon, she realizes she is assisting with the production of seditious pamphlets, attacking the new Parliament goverment. Although she recognizes this activity could put her in grave danger, Lucy becomes convinced the skills she is acquiring will help her achieve independence. The process also results in her political awareness and new acquaintances who will help her recover from her painful experience. A very satisfying read although I wondered how Lucy had learned to read and write so well, given her dour father.

[Stacey]

I never really read about the English Civil Wars, so this was an educational change of time period. Lots of historical detail, and my favorite, LOTS of historical printing press/print culture details.

I particularly liked how determined the main character was to do what she wanted and live her own life outside the more constricting social restraints.

This book is about a young woman, sent from her country home to London during the English Civil Wars (before Cromwell becomes the Big Cheese in England; before Charles I gets beheaded, but after the establishment of the Parliamentary government). She moves in with her uncle and his shrewish wife, and begins paid work at an illegal (unlicensed by the Stationers' Guild) press, printing seditious but fascinating (to her) political pamphlets and small books. The secondary characters are well drawn, and interesting in and of themselves, though the protagonist's struggle to survive and thrive in dangerous London drives the plot.

[Libby Ames]

As usual, I love Gillian Bradshaw. This book is an interesting one, because it is written in a much later time period then most of her historical fiction. Her story is set in London during Oliver Cromwell and the English Civil wars. Much of the book deals with the politics of the time period and the struggle for the common people to gain more power. With all the politics, the storyline was a little slower than some of Bradshaw's other books. However, I felt the balance was just right. Right enough to keep me interested in the politics (and that is saying a lot for me). It is nice to read a fun story and feel I'm being educated at the same time.

[Joanne]

Bradshaw's best book since she started getting published by Severn House. It's not her period, but she does a tremendous job of writing an exciting story, and evoking society and politics during the English Civil War. There's no cliches here either, thank God, so there's no ebil repressed Puritans or dashing royalist highwaymen. Now if only she could have mentioned stays...

[3genres]

Interesting book. Not her usual period, it sounds like, but I enjoyed the book. Liked the main character, a strong and independent woman. Must have been difficult back then. Also enjoyed reading about the politics of the times and the birth of the newspaper. Ironic, now that we're living through what might be the death of the newspaper. It's like it's going back to its beginnings.

[Sky]

This was excellent! I came into this novel slightly better informed about the period than I was with the author's other works, having listened to some podcasts on the subject (David Crowther's The History of England Podcast is quite good). What struck me learning the history of the English Civil Wars - or the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, or whatever that huge mess is called - is how chaotic it was. This novel captures that aspect perfectly, being set during one of the strangest years in English history. Parliamentary forces had won the war, destroying the royalist army and capturing the king. But Parliament hadn't had any elections in years, most of the members had fled or died, and those that remained were deeply divided on what came next now that they'd won. The army hadn't been paid and refused to disband until it was, and the soldiers insisted on having some say in the political settlement to the conflict they had fought and died for. The king kept playing the parliament off against the army in endless negotiations, but meanwhile kept up secret correspondence with other factions in Ireland, Scotland, and the continent trying to raise up another army to invade England (different historians have vastly different views on the war and its sides, but I don't see how anyone who knows anything about the subject could not come to despise Charles Stuart). Beneath and underlying the political debate was a religious one; the country was in a period of religious fervent with Presbyterians hoping to instate their purified doctrine and the new orthodoxy, while new sects popped up all over the country with demands for broad toleration or suppression of their enemies.

This novel comes at the period through a nice unique perspective. Lucy is a country girl, a political naif predisposed to the Parliamentary faction due to her Presbyterian, but also with a very personal hatred of war and the armies. She is new come to London to stay with relatives and winds up working a printing press for political radicals. The book is as beautifully written and immaculately researched as any of the author's others. This period is one of the earliest in English history where voices of the common people were written down and are still recorded for us today, and the author makes use of those letters and pamphlets and newspapers to inform her writing style and characterization.

[Evan Þ.]

Amid the unsettlement of the English Civil War - after Parliament has defeated the king, while they and the Army are arguing over how to govern the kingdom, and before Pride's Purge - our protagonist, a country girl hurt by the war, comes to London to start a new life. She finds it, to her relatives' consternation, as a political printer.

I greatly enjoyed this book. The era is one I love reading about; the characters (especially the protagonist) are very well done. I loved reading about her recovery from her mental wounds and her growing political awareness and involvement.

Also, this greatly decreased my sympathy for the Long Parliament. After such a long time, was it not time for new elections? Even apart from how they were continuing restrictive laws like licensing of the press? It's been pointed out that restrictive election franchises meant the Army might've been more representative of the people than Parliament... and this book makes that sound very believable.

[Marianne]

Really really interesting and hard to put down book that is about finding autonomy and recognizing your own equal significance in a time and place where almost no one is particularly interested in letting you even think you want them, never mind having them. Also it was sometimes quite witty, emotional, and or nerd tastic. And despite many difficult topics, the overall tone is somehow hopeful and forward-looking, without being pollyanna. i appreciated that a lot.

CN: realistic depictions of war and its surrounds, including physical violence, killing, flashbacks to actual rape, attempted rape, threats, detailed scenes of PTSD symptoms Et. Cet. Era. also the effects of deadly virulent disease, and related grief. also sexual harassment at work and in other places.

[Farah Mendlesohn]

I am currently reading through every novel of the English Civil War I can get my hands on (from Defoe onwards) and this is a fine contribution to the field. I think I spotted a mere two anachronisms which is bloody good going, and tho Lucy perhaps learns the printing trade a little faster than is plausible, this is war-time. What I particularly like about this novel (tho your toleration for this may vary) is the very thorough exploration of the nuances of radical politics of the period. It's this that makes the war so very exciting. (If you like this book try Lindsey Davis, Rebels and Traitors, and Jack Lindsey's 1649: A Novel of a Year).

[Megan]

This isn't a period I know much about, so I did get confused about some of the historical background, especially since this was a time of shifting loyalties and betrayals. I liked all the details about printing and propaganda of the times. I liked the heroine and her determination, but I felt some of her friends were a little ahead of the times in their feminism. Maybe not -- it was indeed a time of changes.

[Annginette Anderson]

Not Gillian Bradshaw’s period (as she readily admits) and not her best. In her books set in the ancient world Ive particularly liked the details about material culture — what people are, what they wore, how they got around, what day-to-day skills they took for granted. This relatively short book didn’t have much of that, and the character development took a backseat to the intricate details of the politics of this confusing period.

[Jean]

This book was recommended to me because of its accurate descriptions of printing-press operations in 17th-century London. Beyond that, it was simply a very enjoyable, quick read with a likable and credible protagonist, Lucy Wentnor. I would definitely recommend it to readers who enjoy historical fiction or have an interest specifically in the period of the English Civil Wars.

[Caralyn]

Great read

A really enjoyable work of historical fiction which is both well researched and well written. Lucy Wentnor is a refreshingly independent intelligent woman and makes a highly sympathetic heroine whose story you will be keen to follow. Highly recommended! I've now bought the second book in the series.

[Steven desJardins]

There's nothing wrong with this book, it is very well-written, the attitudes of the prominent characters are comprehensible and congenial to modern sensibilities while seeming entirely in line with historically radical figures, I liked the heroine and the romantic interest, but once I had finished nothing about this book elicited more than a "well that was fine" reaction.

[Jane]

Time travel is easy with Gillian Bradshaw, who gives a first-class ride through history in this engrossing story set during England's Civil Wars. A fascinating look at the printing business nad the birth of newspapers here.

[Jaclyn]

Fun historical read

Great mix of history and fictional drama. I am embarrassed to say that I never knew England had civil wars! Great information and brought me curious enough to do some research on my own.

[Shaz]

Three and a half stars

This is set in 1647 London which is a fascinating time and the story is full of period details. I really like the printing aspects and how that allows the social and political concerns of the time permeate the whole story. Lucy is a great character too.

[Peggy S Cagle]

Good historical fiction and romance novel.

I liked the character development and story line. I've read a number of historical fiction books set in England, this ones on par with the best ones. Not many out there set during English Civil Wars.

[Beth Friedman]

Book club read, though I'd read another book by the author earlier. This one was also very good. It especially gives the feel for the shifting politics of the time.

[D.w.]

While this is a romance, that is not its strength. The romantic elements are not really developed as opposed to the historical context and background that Ms. Bradshaw provides us in what becomes an excellent glimpse into a time that perhaps most know little about.

London, after the victory of Parliament over Charles I was not all celebration and happiness, but was in turmoil, the victors fighting over the spoils of war as happens frequently when the victors are not led by one mind. We see this as our heroine comes to London for the first time and has to deal with allies who were oppressors, family that loves and hates her, and a city that is tightly held in an inflationary spiral which happens when a country has been beset by a war that has ravished it.

Add the religious pressures that Parliament was suffering as well to this mix where all those who know the truth of their vision of god tried to wrest control of the nation, and London is indeed in Chains as Ms Bradshaw names the book. What we see also is the rise of printing in this era and a comment that is made, about how no General would dare go to war without their own press, (which reminds me a great deal of Douglas Macarthur) and we see that our Heroine is poised to show us a glimpse of this period that I had no idea of. Before this work, I thought Parliament won, Charles was incarcerated and eventually Parliament voted to behead him, and then Cromwell was made supreme. Yet much was to be done before that happened as I now know. (I am a product of the US education system)

Though there is a romance for our Heroine, and some little time is devoted to it, it does not seem fully fledged as the hero of this action is taken away off stage. That there is some interaction and words between hero and heroine to put the building blocks for a relationship and that they view each other philosophically similarly might breed true, but still, if romance be ones first inclination, more should take place. If History is what you would like to delve into in a period piece, than look no further for the period of 1647 and 1648 one can do little better. At every turn of the page Ms Bradshaw is able to add depth to her world, painting with words details that little occurred to me, but that I think all would find enriching. I recommend this to those who find history of an interest in their reading.

[Barb in Maryland]

A marvelous and thought-provoking book set in the early years of the English Civil War. King Charles I is still living, but Parliament's Army has won at Naseby. This book's background story is the fight for the hearts and minds of the Army and the various Parliamentary factions. We meet Royalists, Levelers, Agitators and more. There are political double crosses and triple crosses a plenty.
Carrying the front story is young Lucy Wentnor who has come to London to stay with her uncle. She is one of the walking wounded--raped by soldiers when they robbed the family farm. She's hoping for a fresh start and some loving attention from her uncle's family, but finds a cold welcome. Rather than become an unpaid servant to her aunt, she accepts a job putting together political pamphlets.
And Lucy is our entry into the exciting world of 17th century printing. She quickly finds herself operating an unlicensed printing press while its owner is in prison. She is printing weekly pamphlets to sway the Army and the Army's petitions to Parliament. Later in the book she works for one of the weekly 'newsbooks'(forerunners of Time and Newsweek).
This was not a safe profession--printers who fell afoul of whoever was in charge at the time could end up in jail.
There's even a low-key romance between Lucy and one of the men who helps her with the press.
Most of the quotes are from real pamphlets and newsbooks of the era. The careful reader will find a lot of similarities with the rhetoric of the American Revolution.

[Mim]

I should say up front that I love this book and it's sequel. I read very few books more than once and I have read both London in Chains and A Corruptible Crown several times. However, I do have some problems that grate on me in these books.

First of all, Lucy and her 21st century, independent, free thinking woman attitude just doesn't wash with the time period. No amount of justifying or rationalising can make Lucy's character believable in a 17th century context.

Secondly, as an independent, sometimes excessively opinionated 21st century woman myself, Lucy comes across as shrewish even to me. Her outrage over every offence or misplaced word and her constant man bashing is really really irritating. Furthermore, I think Ms Bradshaw took the readers sympathy in these issues for granted and often didn't bother to justify Lucy's often excessive outrage over minor indiscretions. As a result, Lucy often comes across as nagging, self righteous and overly sensitive.

Lastly, I don't feel the reasons for the Levellers beliefs and ultimately the English Civil War were well explained at all. Throughout the book we hear about the leveller cause, Lucy's passionate pursuit for justice and her revilement of the different leaders involved in this issue but the nature of their evil deeds was never well explained. As someone new to this time in history, I found myself wondering 'why are they so against Charles I?' 'What is Cromwell trying to achieve?' 'What outcome are the levellers fighting for?' None of this was explained.

[Yune]

This will probably become a three-star upon re-read, but I got excited because Bradshaw found her rhythm again (in 17th century England, yes); and because the book I'd originally planned to read had been inadvertently left in the car during a rainstorm, then the first attempted replacement -- by Mercedes Lackey -- was too earnestly cloying for my mood, and this one turned out to be just right. I found it quite charming and ended up finishing it instead of reading just a chapter as planned and going to bed at a decent hour.

A young woman comes to London from the country and finds a job sewing together pamphlets. Before you know it, she's running an illegal printing press as political tensions roil.

I wouldn't read this for the craft -- Modesitt's Magic of Recluse shall always be my gold standard for delving into a character's trade, and this one doesn't even medal, although it deals competently enough with the printing process -- or even necessarily the historical background. Because it is just that: background. Explained and very much relevant to the characters' predicaments, but the part that really caught at me was Lucy's search for independence and acceptance. A few people around her are a bit unimaginative, but I liked Lucy herself enough to enjoy the entire story.

[Joy]

Her virginity and dowry lost to marauding soldiers, Lucy Wentnor arrives in London during the English Civil war to live with her uncle. While there she falls in with her uncle's Leveller friends and ends up first working for and then running an unlicensed press printing political pamphlets. Although things look bad for Lucy at various parts of the book, she eventually finds her place, her independence, and even love with the most unlikely of men. If you're at all interested in the history of political writing and printing, this is a very interesting book. The characters are also well-portrayed. Lucy isn't the most sympathetic of Bradshaw's heroines--she's somewhat strident and speaks with a lot of exclamation points and italics but she has a lot to be angry about too. It's also instructive to see what women in the men's workplace probably had to deal with back then--Lucy's a skilled worker who has experience running an illegal press without getting caught and yet a employer casually offers her double her salary to sleep with him . Although this book certainly stands on its own, Bradshaw is now at work on a sequel

I love Bradshaw. Love, love, love her since I read _Hawk of May_ in the mid-80s. This is somewhat of a departure for her--she tends to write in the Classical period--but it's still very good.