pick5 Stars • In Merivel: A Man of His Time by Rose Tremain, sequel to Restoration, aging physician Robert Merivel faces a midlife crisis in 17th-century England. Struggling with financial woes and a quest for purpose, he fails at Louis XIV‘s court, navigates personal losses, and deepens ties with his daughter and King Charles II. The novel blends humor and pathos, exploring mortality and redemption.
#Merivel #RoseTremain #17Century #France
pickWell researched and written like a thriller, this was a fast, fascinating read. I had no idea that Pepys had gone through anything like this. And the dangers of “populist” movements are hard to ignore. #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks
The view from the porch as I read about a Parliament scarily close to our House of Representatives. “On 9 May, still furious that Charles‘s pardon of Danby had made a mockery of their authority, the Commons resolved that even to express the opinion that Danby‘s pardon was legally valid was a criminal offence.”
Started my #bookspin this evening, sitting on the porch of the cabin in the mountains where we are vacationing. #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks
so-soThe narration was excellent, but the way it was written was confusing for me as someone new to the study of 17th century England. I didn‘t understand why some aspects were heavily covered and some were barely touched on.
3/5 Read for a brief history of the British Civil War, a long history of the religious turmoil that led to it, & a smattering of history of thought, including an in depth but limited in scope discussion of The Blazing World
"To love one person with a private love is poor and miserable: to love all is glorious."
-Thomas Traherne, "Centuries of Meditations"
"It is a strange thing that men will be such enemies to themselves. Wisdom is the principal thing, yet all neglect her. Wherefore get wisdom, and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her and she shalt promote thee, she shall bring thee to honour when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thy head an ornament of grace, a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee."
-Thomas Traherne, "Centuries of Meditations"
"All men see the same objects, but do not equally understand them. Intelligence is the tongue that discerns and tastes them, Knowledge is the Light of Heaven, Love is the Wisdom and Glory of God, Life extended to all objects is the sense that enjoys them. So that Knowledge, Life, and Love are the very means of all enjoyment, which above all things we must seek for and labour after."
-Thomas Traherne, "Centuries of Meditations"
