Excerpts from a longer article:
Timely Take-aways for life-long Learners: Modern European History: A Fresh Look

Several new works of nonfiction provide fresh insights into early modern and modern European history. Beyond the violence and wars, these books examine the period through archaeology, political actions, and the roles of women.

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William of Orange and the Fight for the Crown of England: The Glorious Revolution
Brian Best, Oct 2021, Frontline Books, Casemate Publishers
Themes: Biography, History, Military
Known as the Glorious Revolution, Protestant William of Orange and his troops ousted Catholic King James. Brian Best takes readers through the Stuart dynasty from 1660 to 1714 on an exploration of the key acts passed by Parliament and the major religious conflicts of the period along with the life of King William III of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Take-aways: Use this work of nonfiction to talk with youth about how conflicts were settled not only by violence, but also through Acts of Parliament.

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Whether helping educators keep up-to-date in their subject-areas, promoting student reading in the content-areas, or simply encouraging nonfiction leisure reading, teacher librarians need to be aware of the best new titles across the curriculum and how to activate life-long learning. - Annette Lamb

Loved this book. Lots of interesting information to digest. This is a great read for anyone who loves to read about history. Esp you own history. Very well written

My thanks to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for a review copy of this book

England in the seventeenth century saw a period fraught with religious and political tensions, the replacement of the monarchy on not one but two occasions and various changes which are reflected in the modern world. The execution of Charles I and brief period of republicanism in England was followed by the Great Restoration when Charles II took the throne. But his heir James II was disapproved by people, not only because of his religion but because of the changes he sought to make—in fact did start to put into practice; ultimately, his son-in-law, William of Orange was invited to take the throne. But while the ‘Glorious Revolution’ consequent to which William and Mary were jointly crowned was indeed relatively bloodless, the period of their rule saw them challenged from various fronts and battle was almost a constant. William of Orange and the Fight for the Crown of England is an account of these events, more so of the battles fought to take and keep the crown.

The first ten chapters of the book set out the background or context in which William, Stadtholder of Holland was invited to rule England. It opens with the events following the death of Oliver Cromwell, when the republicans were losing ground and Charles II was invited to take the throne (in fact, our account begins with George Monck, later Duke of Albemarle, who was a supporter of Cromwell but played a crucial role in the restoration). Charles II’s reign was not an easy one, for tensions between King and Parliament, and also the city of London and the King remained. The Great Fire and Great Plague were witnessed in his rule, and he was also the target of assassination attempts. His brother and heir James II, after a surprisingly mild start to his reign, began to try to rule supreme attempting to replace officials and the judiciary with loyalists and Catholics. Monmouth, illegitimate son of Charles II launched a rebellion and failed, and this was followed by the Bloody Assizes where the notorious Judge Jeffries, among others, sentenced hundreds of prisoners including innocents to be hung, drawn and quartered.

In this background, William was invited to take the crown and exactly a hundred years after the Spanish Armada arrived in England with another armada, four times the size of the 1588 one. Other than one confrontation, his transition to King of England jointly with Mary II as Queen was peaceful. But the fight to keep the crown was not as bloodless or peaceful—William faced battles from the Scots (whom he angered by his policies) and Irish—both with the involvement of James II—and had also to battle the French to protect both his English throne and Holland. The book gives us a detailed account of each of these battles, and all the opposition (and plots) William had to face during his rule of 12 years.

One of the things that stood out to me about the invitation to William to take the English Crown (for which he was made to wait a little), was that the Parliament’s declaration spoke of ‘King James II…breaking the original contract between King and people’, indicating that the divine right of kings to rule the country was no longer acceptable.

But this was not the only first to be seen in their reign. William and Mary were also the first monarchs to be jointly crowned, and in 1689 a Bill of Rights signed by them was incorporated into English law promising among other things free elections. They were also the first to take an oath to uphold law according to parliamentary statutes, and to give a budget to Parliament of their expenses. William also appointed a government from the majority party, echoing the modern cabinet. Free political press with limited censorship and a national bank too came into being in their rule.

But despite all these developments and the relative cooperation between William and his Parliament, he was not approved of universally. The Scots and Irish wished for James II to be on the throne since he was Catholic, and William further irked the Scots by his refusal to support them in the failed Darien Gap project (a colony that the Scots attempted to establish in unfavourable surroundings and with huge investments) since he was politically aligned with the Spanish (under whose control the territory fell) and did not wish to anger them. So while William wished to focus on his campaigns on the Continent to protect his interests there (and indeed check Louis the XIV’s expansionist plans), he was also forced to battle the Scots and the Irish in England.

The book gives an interesting and detailed account of these battles and includes in its descriptions, excerpts from those that participated in or witnessed these battles first hand. All sides had their ups and downs, suffered losses and successes and made their share of mistakes. We learn about these, about the different positions they took during the battles and how things turned out for them.

While the battles are the focus of the book, alongside, we also learn of developments in politics and society, friendships and alliances, plots and enmities as well. We also meet various individuals including the notorious Titus Oates whose fabricated ‘Popish plot’ led to the executions of various innocents (and who surprisingly was pardoned), and Judge Jeffries who became known as the hanging judge and was also responsible for the lives of innocents, including 68-year-old Alice Lisle, whose jury was literally threatened by Jeffries into returning a guilty verdict. Then there is Sarah Churchill, Lady Marlborough, who for a time dominated Queen Anne, and tried to extend her influence.

This was an interesting and well written account of the battles and plots that the forgotten William of Orange had to face during his reign, and will be of interest to those who enjoy reading war history; for me personally, while I enjoyed the book, since my interest in more in social and political history, it did waver a little as the book is battle heavy (my fault not the book’s). Also I didn’t feel I got to know William as well I’d expected. But a good read. 3.75 rounded off to 4 stars.

William III, who reigned with his wife Mary II from 1688 until her death in 1694, and then alone until his own death in 1702 is one of Britain's lesser known monarchs. I have always thought that this was a pity because the momentous changes to the British political system which grew out of the Glorious Revolution are so interesting.

Brian Best has presented us with a well-researched and informative book which is eminently readable. At first it is a little choppy due to the summing up of preceding events, but never fear, once he gets into the real heart of his subject it flows along. I was a little surprised, given the title, that William III did not figure more prominently in the text. Maybe that is why William is not more prominent in history; so many important things happened during his reign that the king himself sort of fades into the background.

I enjoyed this book very much, and recommend it to other readers.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions are my own.

This is not really the book I expected, as a lot of the info focused a lot on English politics in general leading up to the main title. William of Orange felt more like a side character and his fight and later crowing as an English king is a small detail of the book. The info overall was very dry and boring, many of the quotes materials went on for pages at a time. Felt more like a textbook for one of my courses, which isn’t what I enjoy personally with history/biographies.

A masterful & captivating journey through the Glorious Revolution and an engrossing portrait of the unprepossessing William of Orange. A very detailed account of all the events behind the power grab set up by the genial couple, the flight of James II and the tireless fight between William and his powerful nemesis Louis XIV. A magnificent tapestry of the tail-end of 17th century England to be enjoyed without any moderation whatsoever!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Pen & Sword for this terrific ARC

This is a period of British history that I didn’t know much about before, and a King I only know by name. As Brian Best admits in his excellent and informative book, William of Orange (William III) is one of England’s least known monarchs, yet his reign (“The Glorious Revolution”) introduced many lasting changes such as the creation of the Bank of England and the “Bill of Rights”. This limited the powers of the monarchy and set out the rights of Parliament, including the need for regular parliaments, free elections, and freedom of speech in Parliament. It also confirmed certain rights of individuals, including the banning of “cruel and unusual punishments”. But William’s reign was also overshadowed by atrocities such as the massacre at Glencoe.
A few pages in and I’ve already learned that Charles II’s advisors (Lords Clifford, and Arlington, the Duke of Buckingham, and Lords Ashley and Lauderdale) were known by their initials and gave us the word “CABAL”, a fact I was entirely unaware of. No dry history book, author Brian Best takes us on a journey through the tumultuous wars, plots and catastrophes that defined the mid-to late 17th century, beginning with the Restoration of the monarchy after Cromwell when the country was in turmoil and ending with the death of William’s successor, Queen Anne.
The rampant spread of bubonic plague through London resonates strongly with the modern reader, with foreign ships being quarantined in Canvey Island for forty days; and plague victims being buried en masse. Sadly, this was followed closely by the Great Fire of London in 1666. Vivid descriptions of the inferno come courtesy of the ever-present and plucky Samuel Pepys, who would later find himself caught up in the Popish Plot, (instigated by the outrageous chancer Titus Oates), and falsely imprisoned.
The death of Charles II brought the accession of his brother, James. His desire to return England to Catholicism would bring him into conflict with Parliament. His unpopularity led to William of Orange taking the throne, repelling repeated attempts by James to retake his crown over the years. After the failed Monmouth Rebellion, the atrocities of Judge Jeffreys and the “Bloody Assizes” cast a stain on the history of England. Later, the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland becomes probably the most well-known event of William’s reign, with repercussions that still resonate in the country today.
Another excellent slice of history from Pen & Sword, Brian Best’s book is very easy to read, concise and clear. The momentous reign of one of our most neglected monarchs is vividly brought to life and one gets the impression that William was able to take quite a lot of things in his stride, with only the untimely death of his wife, Mary, truly affecting him. Ironically, even though the book is about William, he doesn’t have that much of a presence, which in a way reflects his position in history, but dramatic, lasting changes happened because of his reign, and that will be his legacy.

NB: free copy received for honest review

This is a pretty decent overview of English and British political struggle (both internally and within Europe) from the mid 1600s to the early 1700s. Which is not really the book I expected, given the title. WIlliam of Orange does feature in several chapters, but most of what is written about him focuses on his lifelong conflict with France. His acquisition of the English crown is really quite a minor part of the book, with many chapters focusing on other figures such as James II and the Duke of Marlborough.

I did also feel that the use of contemporary sources was a bit heavy-handed. Some excerpts from original sources went on for a very long time.

Very well done! Informative and very well researched without being dry or boring. I had only read historical fiction that touched on William Of Orange and not in a good way. This book sheds alot of the many challenges that he had to face. I also liked the pictures included as it saved me from having to look them up. A definite recommend. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion.