The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 has quite the legacy - it's date (November 5th) is immortalized and bonfires continued to be lit centuries afterwards. In its own time, the unveiling of the plot reinforced Protestant England and its ruling regime, doing the Catholics to whom the plotters aimed to help no favors. Two theories exist about the Gunpowder Plot- that it was a real threat to the Stuart government and that it was actually masterminded by government minister Robert Cecil for his own political ends. This book attempts to find a middle ground between these two interpretations and convincingly arrives at something close to the truth. In addition to the historical arguments, I appreciated the very human details included in this book and it made reading this history almost akin to a novel. ( )

TBB-1

Fifty pages from the end, and I've given up: the plot has been discovered, the main Plotters are dead, and there may only be the final details to tidy away, but I've finally had enough of Fraser's special pleading for these terrorists, and the Jesuits who enabled them.

Let's clarify a couple of things: the Gunpowder Plotters were NOT martyrs for religious freedom. They weren't fighting for freedom from persecution, but for freedom TO persecute anyone who disagreed with them. Sadly, that was the name of the game at the time: the Catholics tortured and executed the Protestants, the Protestants tortured and executed the Catholics, and the Inquisition tortured and executed the Protestants, Jews and free-thinkers. Seeing the actions of the Plotters through a rosy modern glow, as "fighters for freedom of conscience" is just wrong.

Second, the Plotters were, to a man, dumb as a bag of rocks. Your plot is revealed by an anonymous letter a couple of days before it's supposed to go ahead? No problem! You have failed miserably to enlist the support of foreign governments? They will surely see the light, when they see how well it's all going (in spite of the fact that the ambassadors of those governments, who usually attended the state opening of Parliament, would have been killed in the explosion ...). EVERYONE TELLS YOU IT'S A BAD IDEA. They're just spoilsports. Positive thinking, that's all you need ...

As always, Antonia Fraser's account of the Gunpowder Plot is well researched, detailed and well-written. However, as I commented in my recent review of her biography of Marie Antoinette, her devotion to her subject tends to result in claims that she doesn't even try to support -- her Plotters were wrong-headed and misguided, but they couldn't possibly have acted ignobly because ... well, just because. ( )

It seems that when reading Fraser, I comment on not being a fan. Upon finishing one of her books my opinion always shifts when I come to terms with how well-informed I've become. This seems fairly similar to my take on some high school and college professors: didn't enjoy the method but loved the results.

Fraser, per her usual, is even-handed, painfully thorough and brilliant in her lack of judgement, foreshadowing or gross suppositions. While that makes for a sometimes interesting read, it's really not what is wanted in a good history, which despite my protestations, is precisely what this book is. ( )

Detailed and balanced account of this famous incident in English/British history. Not all of the footnotes were very useful or necessary, but the text sticks to the point remarkably well. ( )