Mark’s Comments (group member since Apr 13, 2009)

Mark’s comments from the Q & A with Goodreads Author Mark Turnbull group.

Hi there

I recently published my first historical novel, Decision Most Deadly.

It is set in 1641 during the political crisis that led to the English Civil War and follows fictional Sir Charles Berkeley's life at the forefront of these critical events. There is a mix of political intrigue and mystery, with domestic life, showing how the troubles affected Sir Charles's new marriage and home life.

Soon you can follow Sir Charles Berkeley on Twitter, when I will update his profile regularly with his observations about what occurred on that date in 1641. So there will be a mix of his life and historical events, just like the book.

http://twitter.com/SirCBerkeley

If you're interested, please join him - he aims to start tweeting in the next few weeks.

Kind regards
Mark

I think the Dutch established themselves as one of the main Protestant nations, and was reciognised by Spain.

Also the fact that England was secure in its new (at the time!) faith

And then we have the inroads Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden made, during the Thirty Years War.

And finally, Bohemia inviting the Elector Palatine to become King, casting off their Catholic figurehead.

The whole period seems woefully overshadowed - it English schools for instance, they stop history at the Gunpowder Plot and then begin it again during the Victorian Industrial Revolution!!

Would the British Monarchy exist today if King Charles I had won the English Civil War?

In 1643, the English Parliament called upon "learned, godly and judicious Divines", to meet at Westminster Abbey in order to provide advice on issues of worship, doctrine, government and discipline of the Church of England. Their meetings, over a period of five years, produced the confession of faith, as well as a Larger Catechism and a Shorter Catechism. For more than three centuries, various churches around the world have adopted the confession and the catechisms as their standards of doctrine, subordinate to the Bible.

The Westminster Confession of Faith was modified and adopted by Congregationalists in England in the form of the Savoy Declaration (1658). Likewise, the Baptists of England modified the Savoy Declaration to produce the Second London Baptist Confession (1689). English Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Baptists would together (with others) come to be known as Nonconformists, because they did not conform to the Act of Uniformity (1662) establishing the Church of England as the only legally-approved church, though they were in many ways united by their common confessions, built on the Westminster Confession.

More info for anyone who has not heard of the Westminster Confession.

You may wish to join the new group I formed about the 17th century, as currently there are no groups I have come across out there about this period. Why should the age be forgotten about??

http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1...

Feel free to add....

This one is linked to Andrea's post, and the Westminster Confession.

For me, it was the English Civil War. Never before had a monarch been murdered in such a judicial and open fashion. Europe seemed so stunned and viewed it with such disbelief that it was left to happen without any interference.

Feel free to add your choices of books with a 17th century theme to the bookshelf too!

Hello

Thank you for viewing my discussion and Q&A group.

If you would like to ask a question about the 17th century, or simply discuss and share comments about writing, or being an author, then this is the place for you!

I'd love to hear from you if you are a new author too, or looking to get published soon.

You can leave your comments and questions in preparation for May 2009.

Kind regards

Mark