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The past is a foreign country, as L.P. Hartley once wrote, and exploring how people thought hundreds of years ago is something I find deeply fascinating. This was particularly the case when I was completing my MA degree at the University of Birmingham, specialising in the English Civil War. After a visit to the British Museum a last year, I popped into the London Review of Books in Bury Place in London<\/a> to find my latest read.<\/p>\n On the recommended shelf stood an intriguing looking 1997 novel by Iain Pears set in 1660s England<\/a> – an era guaranteed to pique my interest. As well as my studies, my appetite had been wetted by reading the Restless Republic, a brilliant look at the Interregnum and Charles II\u2019s ascension to the throne, whose father was executed in 1649<\/a>. I picked up Pears\u2019 work, turned it over and read the blurb. Four witnesses describe the events surrounding the death of a fellow of New College at the University of Oxford, with each one telling their version of events.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n But only one reveals the extraordinary truth.<\/p>\n Notwithstanding its length, 704 pages, I was gripped throughout, and sympathised with every character\u2019s viewpoint.<\/p>\n Scenes were expertly painted, transporting me back centuries.<\/p>\n You could feel the aged wooden benches of slightly chilly and muddy pubs on your back, see dim candlelight in dingy rooms, smell unwashed crowds and admire the English countryside.<\/p>\n Evident research meant that people\u2019s thinking was realistic, including a constant emphasis on God, which guided Calvinists\u2019 daily activities as they constantly looked for signs of His favour.<\/p>\n Robert Harris does this extremely well, also.\u00a0<\/p>\n Incidentally, I recommend his book set in the same era – Act of Oblivion, which centres on Restoration authorities tracking down two regicides in America.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Exploring early modern England through the eyes of an Italian in An Instance of a Fingerpost was a clever way to introduce Stuart Oxford, with the foreigner pointing out its customs and peculiarities.<\/p>\n By the end of his chapters, you like him and want him to be successful.<\/p>\n The book explores many themes: espionage, politics and the struggle for power, religion, how women were viewed and treated, as well as scientific research and its practical applications.<\/p>\n An intense court scene reminds one very much of To Kill a Mockingbird.<\/p>\n The thing that struck me most of all, however, is how smoothly it was written.\u00a0<\/p>\n This made it easy and pleasurable to read, while at the same time keeping the protagonists\u2019 accounts authentic and satisfyingly contemporary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n