Description

Robert Greville, 2nd Lord Brooke, was a prominent figure amongst the opposition to Charles I, a religious radical and intellectual who emerged as a successful popular leader in the early months of the English Civil War. This volume publishes the richly detailed household accounts kept for Brooke and his widow, Katherine, on an annual basis between 1640 and 1649. These texts have scarcely been studied by historians. They are an illuminating source for Brooke's capacious intellectual, religious and political networks, and for his mobilization of support for Parliament in 1642. They also uncover the administration of his estates and households in London, Warwickshire and the midlands before and after his premature death. These accounts are crucial sources for political, economic and military historians, and equally important for social and cultural historians interested in the history of the family, of childhood, and widowhood, as well as consumption and material culture.