Droxford Station Signal Box. A very pleasant couple of days.
It has taken quite a few weeks for me to finish this 600-page book, working my way through it last thing at night trying to read usually between 5 – 10 pages before having to put the book down because of falling asleep. I think I even strained my right thumb through the way I was holding the book.
This is the first history book that I have read in a very long time, I recall the point roughly around 1974 where, at college, my interest in history was severely damaged by what iI considered to be a really bad tutor. But, I have never really lost my interest in the subject, but I have been very aware of my woeful level of knowledge on the topic.
I decided to start with the Plantagenets as I have a perception that it is around this time that the recording of history became more factually accurate, being less influenced by other factors. There probably is a little bit of poetic licence about some of the conversations, and acts, all of which can be reasonably inferred from the outcomes of the events to which they relate.
The book is extremley readable, it really pulled me in and it was fascinating to follow the rise and fall of this amazing ruling family, their trials, tribulations and successes.
Of course their time does come to an end, and culminates in the Wars of the Roses. Luckily, Dan Jonnes has written a book about the Wars of the Roses. I’ve ordered it, and it’ll take a week or so to arrive. In the meantime, I’ve started reading the Diary of a Nobody.
Bills Posts 