 Review of
Conrad Russell's Failure by Tunnel Vision
Conrad Russell: Causes of the English Civil War
Unsuccessful and incomplete work on the English Civil War Nov 10 2012Conrad Russell also wrote Why did Charles I call the Long Parliament? when in University College, London. This is a short review, essentially to warn people that Conrad Russell's book is incomplete; possibly studiedly so, in fact. (Here's my view of Gerrard Winstanley). Just a note on his personality. Let me quote from a handy 5-star Amazon review—As the Eton and Oxford educated son of Bertrand Russell, and great grandson of a prime minister, Conrad Russell (d.2004) had arguably the best possible springboard from which to achieve academic prominence - and this he achieved in spades. Bertrand Russell deplored public schools and the aristocracy, at least in his writings; this consummate hypocrisy reproduced itself in his son Conrad, unfortunately. In later life, Conrad Russell was prominent in the Liberal Democrats, though of course he achieved little, as that party was and is an ineffectual adjunct to modern quasi-democracy. Conrad Russell advocated academic freedom, but almost entirely in the sense that he supported what Americans call 'funding' of conventional studies—he had simply no knowledge or conception of censorship and corruption in the academic world (and journalistic, teaching, medical, scientific, political, business worlds). His book, in addition to the introductory and concluding chapters, has seven chapters on separated-out topics, the approach favoured by Bertrand Russell. 'Multiple kingdoms' (i.e. in addition to England, Ireland and Scotland, both invaded by Cromwell) are an obvious starting-point. Then three chapters on religion, the Church of England being of course the sun around which other issues rotate. A chapter on law. Then possibly the most interesting chapter, on the King's poverty and weaknesses; or rather that of the 'Crowne', something harder to delimit. Finally, 'The Man Charles Stuart', naturally taking a dim view of that monarch. The conclusion, rather oddly, is the shortest chapter. His sources are (roughly) state papers, private papers, and modern-ish books and journals. There is of course endless scope for piquant detail—English musket-makers had moved abroad, to make their money there; such a man had no interest in a war, but felt coerced into taking sides; the King failed to pay many bills, including expenses to the author of a history of Henry VIII. However, the main point missing from Conrad Russell is the conspiracy of Jews to enter Britain after a number of centuries, and to connive in Charles' execution. The Great Fire, the rebuilding in stone, the Bank of England, enclosures and so on all followed, and must have been intentional in outline. Like his father, Conrad Russell's tunnel vision omits a bull in the china shop, and his final structure is consequently ruined. He should certainly have known of the documentary evidence. |