Description
Book SynopsisThis is compelling reading for British historians, environmental scholars, historians of technology, and anyone interested in state formation in early modern Europe.
Trade ReviewStunningly relevant and beautifully written . . . This remarkable book is about nation building, economics, and environmental and social history. It is thoroughly researched, and historian Ash tells his story in a compelling way that is accessible to any reader. Essential. All levels/libraries.
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ChoiceAsh's book is a sound study of the drainage of one part of the southern fens over a period of less than a century that was without doubt the most formative era in its taming. It is well-written, informative, assiduously referenced with copious endnotes, and an excellent testimony to the wealth of documentation that survives in the archives.
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Environment and HistoryAn excellent contribution to the history of engineering projects, particularly from an environmental and political point of view.
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MetascienceThis comprehensive account is likely to become the standard textbook for the history of the Fens. It is thoroughly researched, drawing on a wide range of printed material in addition to archival sources including court records, petitions, correspondence, and state papers.
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Renaissance QuarterlyThe book is certainly the account for our generation.
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American Historical ReviewAsh's work will long remain an essential account of these important events.
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Journal of British StudiesAsh supplies a rousing narrative of 'improvement' schemes in the wetlands of eastern England, written in an engaging Whiggish style that imbues the early Stuart dynastic state.
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Journal of Modern HistoryTable of ContentsDedication Table of Contents Abbreviations Acknowledgements Introduction. The Unrecovered Country: Draining the Land, Building the State Part I: Popular Politics, Crown Authority, and the Rise of the Projector Chapter 1: Land and Life in the Pre-Drainage Fens Chapter 2: State Building in the Fens, 1570-1607 Chapter 3: The Crisis of Local Governance, 1609-1616 Chapter 4: The Struggle to Forge Consensus, 1617-1621 Part II: Drainage Projects, Violent Resistance, and State Building Chapter 5: Draining the Hatfield Level, 1625-1636 Chapter 6: The First Great Level Drainage, 1630-1642 Chapter 7: Riot, Civil War, and Popular Politics in the Hatfield Level, 1640-1656 Chapter 8: The Second Great Level drainage, 1649-1656 Epilogue. The Once and Future Fens: Unintended Consequences in an Artificial Landscape Glossary Bibliography Index
