This year I have two books to read on The Gunpowder Plot. This is the first of the two. The full title is Gunpowder, Treason and Plot: The gruesome story of Guy Fawkes. Published by Day One.
The author (Clive Anderson) ‘leads tours to the British Museum, Greece and the Middle East.’ I’ve been on one of his British Museum tours, and it was absolutely brilliant.
Remember, remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes,
‘Twas his intent
To blow up the King and the Parliament,
Three score barrels of powder below
Poor old England to overthrow
By God’s providence he was catched
With a dark lantern and burning match. (Page 9)
So goes the rhyme.
On page 11 Clive tells us ‘This was to be the greatest terrorist conspiracy in British history, for its aim was the destruction of King and Parliament.’ I remember the Brighton bombing where an attempt was made to kill the Prime Minister (Mrs Thatcher) and her Cabinet. They missed their main target, but even so, the IRA bomb killed five people and 34 were injured. The Gunpowder Plot would have been far far more destructive (See Blast Map Illustration, page 96). The author spends a few pages discussing religiously motivated terrorism (Chapter 7).
I’m old enough to remember ‘penny for the guy’ and burning an effigy of Guy Fawkes on the bonfire. We don’t do either of these anymore (unless its President Trump). In fact, we don’t really remember the 5th of November at all – including William III landing at Torbay, Devon in 1688. Other than we set off a few fireworks and maybe have a burger in a bun. Christianity still doesn’t get its own history.
He gives a good overview of the background (from Henry VIII to James I) about why in 1605 the plotters would want to blow up the Houses of Parliament and with a ‘what if’ scenario (pages 110 – 113) had they succeeded. In between, we get profiles of all the main characters. Unless I missed something it seemed a bit strange for the author to speak about Elizabeth I and then we are suddenly introduced to James. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading the book. It was quite easy reading, apart from all the typos, of which there are many! Perhaps the publishers could do something about that at the next printing.
He reminds us that it was a Catholic Plot to blow up and plunge into chaos a Protestant government. Thus, returning England to Roman Catholicism. He doesn’t go overboard on detail and didn’t go much into what the authorities actually knew, although he alludes to it. The gruesome bits were about how the plotters were dispatched. And it was very gruesome, and quite literally a spectacle.
He includes, in table form, a summary of all the plotters referencing how and when they died. Not all were executed. The leader, Robert Catesby (Not Guy (Guido) Fawkes), was killed in a Butch Cassidy style shootout at Holbeach House.
Chapter 11 (an appendix really) is a sermon by Spurgeon. Yes, it was good to read Spurgeon but I wasn’t sure if it added anything to the book. It did remind us that we don’t corporately remember much at all. Reformation Day, for example, is totally lost on most Christians it seems to me.
There’s a brief glossary of terms at the beginning, and with lots of headings throughout the book, an index is probably unnecessary. And at £7.00 it won’t break the bank.