Paul Johnson
Good Queen Bess
The Confident Hope of a Miracle: The True History of the Spanish Armada
By Neil Hanson
NEIL HANSON HAS a reputation for writing a rattling good yarn, and I have little doubt that this book about the Armada will be relished and widely read. Indeed. the passages about the Armada itself, its defeat and the pitiful experiences of its crews in returning home via the Scottish and Irish coasts are well done and taught me a lot I did not know.
But readers should be warned that the author's knowledge of the historical background is sometimes defective and his judgement of character woefully inept. Also, for a popular writer, he has a surprising way of missing obvious tricks. For instance,
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
'There are at least two dozen members of the House of Commons today whose names I cannot read without laughing because I know what poseurs and place-seekers they are.'
From the archive, Christopher Hitchens on the Oxford Union.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/mother-of-unions
Chuffed to be on the Curiosity Pill 2020 round-up for my @Lit_Review piece on swimming, which I cannot wait to get back to after 10+ months away https://literaryreview.co.uk/different-strokes https://twitter.com/RNGCrit/status/1351922254687383553
'The authors do not shrink from spelling out the scale of the killings when the Rhodesians made long-distance raids on guerrilla camps in Mozambique and Zambia.'
Xan Smiley on how Rhodesia became Zimbabwe.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/what-the-secret-agent-saw