The Verneys (ISBN 1594489483)

Opening Others' Mail:
As I finished this book, I turned to the next selection on my summer reading list, Peter Clarke's "The Last Thousand Days of the British Empire." Clarke records a comment by Winston Churchill reflecting his frustration with not being able to meet with President Roosevelt as much as he would have liked, relying on letters instead: "What an ineffectual method of conveying human thought correspondence is." While that is likely true in the abstract, even for one of Churchill's remarkable writing talents, the thought will likely not occur to you as you read "The Verneys." I must say that I bought the book without knowing much about it, willing to take a chance because of my interest in 17th Century England. And then I was a bit distressed to realize that the work is based almost entirely on the correspondence by and among the Verney clan, a formulation that I have seen yield some very dry and much less than compelling historical accounts. I needn't have worried. Tinniswood has done a simply remarkable job of bringing this fascinating family to life. Perhaps this is not that surprising given the fact that letters were the email of the day, and it was not only normal but expected that people wrote letters as we dash off our electronic messages, regularly more than once in a single day, and just as often as we, they were not as careful as they should have been, frequently ruing the products of their haste. Several of the Verneys, intentionally or not, enhanced the historical record by retaining drafts of their letters, so that the modern researcher has the benefit of both ends of many of the communications. But all this is not to detract from Tinniswood's accomplishment. It's one thing to have all these documents available to you, and quite another to be able to weave them into a compelling narrative. My only cavils are that the author assumes on the part of the reader a fairly extensive knowledge of the period's major developments such as the Civil Wars and the Restoration although I'm reasonably certain that a tyro will be able to navigate. The other is the occasional insertion of editorial comments which are all the more bothersome by reason of their unpredictability and inanity. The Verneys were not one of the preeminent English families of the period. But they were sufficiently close to, and involved in, the most significant political and commercial activities and developments of those years to fairly represent the trials and triumphs of their class. Full marks to Author Tinniswood for guiding us into their world in a most entertaining and edifying way.

A 17th Century Family Brought to Life:
Last year I read Blood and Roses: One Family's Struggle and Triumph During the Tumultuous Wars of the Roses. In it, the author used a collection of family letters to bring to life a 15th century British family, the Pastons, who struggle to keep their estate and their recently achieved social prominence. This book, The Verneys, interprets a similarly in tact collection of family letters to draw a portrait of a family from the landed class 200 years later. Through these families, we learn about the daily life of the gentry of their respective times. In the 15th century, the Paston's number one son loses his birthright in a dubious deathbed testament. This change in fortune wreaks havoc on him and his nuclear family. For the Varneys of the 17th century, the system of primogeniture plays out to the unhappiness of its presumed beneficiary. Sir Ralph inherits the responsibity of preserving the estate, paying debts and managing a never-ending parade of requests for assistance from most of the other disinherited relatives. In both books, property is a major issue. (Could it be because there are supporting legal documents that survive, or because this is the major preoccupation of the families?) In both times, ownership is vulnerable to the whims of the crown; however, by the 17th century, the rule of law has evolved such that there seems to be a more defined process for claims and no pitched battles of gentry v. gentry to try take land by force. The Verney sons who do not inherit have some options, whereas if John Paston has any, he does not recognize them. Second sons of the 17th century can seek fortune in colonizing Barbados or in trading in the Ottoman Empire and/or seek wealthy brides on their own. The women in either century have no legal options. Considerable time and resources are spent treating them as commodities. As noted at the end, many of Verney women, who seem to support the system, defy it. The issue of the imagery of women, and their actual behavior is certainly worth a wider study. Tinniswood gives more interpretation than Castor and does not quote the original letters to the extent that Castor did to tell or confirm the story. This makes The Verneys a smoother and more pleasurable read for the pleasure reader. Both books will be important for future researchers.

Compelling history!:
This is history at its best - it's readable, compelling and thoroughly enjoyable. Tinniswood's book achieves many goals in one - a fascinating social history, meticulous biography, powerful family saga, and not least it is a really good and engaging read. The tale begins with Sir Francis Verney who ran away from his teenage wife in 1608, sold off much of the Verney property, converted to Islam and became one of the most feared pirates on the Barbary Coast. Carry on to read about Bess, who ran off with a clergyman; Cary, a heavy gambler, and Henry who was obsessed with horse racing; not to mention those involved in the English Civil War; Mall, who became pregnant out of marriage, or one of the later relatives who was hanged at Tyburn. A really good and compelling portrait of seventeenth-century England, and especially the Verney family. The history is based predominantly on the extensive records of the Verneys, particularly hundreds of letters kept by Sir Ralph Verney (1613-96) who presided over Claydon House in Buckinghamshire for over 50 years

Well written, but a book only a scholar would love.:
I expected this book to be of great interest to me, since I read everything I can find about the history of England. But I guess I am not the scholar I thought I was. This book was written in such a way that by the third page I was beginning to feel bogged down. I was taken by the fact that my family name was mentioned on the first page, and I thought "This is going to be a good read." But I couldn't get thru it. I would advise anyone who wants to get this book, try to find a copy and flip thru it first. If I had done that, I would have passed it by.

Great look at non-aristocrats in 17th Century England:
I received this as a Christmas present from my wish list and it was a great read. Most times we only get to read about the higher eschelons of society so it was interesting to here how the gentry lived. I enjoyed the details of family and home life and believe it or not, the little items remembered in wills. I was surprised by the discussion of how mental disease was viewed and how an insane person was treated by family. This is a different view of 17th Century England and the strains the Civil War placed on families.