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Title:	Now Is The Time
Authors:	Bragg, Melvyn
Genre:	Fiction
Pages:	356
Year:	2015
Language:	English
Description:	The Peasant's Revolt of 1381 bears all the hallmarks of contemporary headlines: taxes, property rights, violence and the abuse of power. Renegade priest John Ball and a former soldier Walter Tyler lead thousands of ordinary men and women to march on London where they are initially placated by the boy-king Richard II. This eerily plausible and sometimes shocking account of the most popular uprising in England, is impressively detailed and brings to life a much neglected episode of history. [Larger font]
Categories:	Fiction, Faction, Human Rights, Political, Social commentary/perspectives, England, 2018 Titles, Larger font

Reviews

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By: GREYT 001		2025-04-08 11:28:55

We all loved this book. Well researched and we learnt so much. Very interesting, traumatic part of history. Small print a bit of problem.

By: MAST 008		2024-01-08 10:04:03

Mixed feelings about this book. Some really enjoyed it and thought it quite credible. We all learnt some historical facts which we'd forgotten about, and some thought it really well-written and crafted.

By: CHCH 064		2024-01-08 10:02:11

Produced great discussion although a mixed response. Excellent book notes. The title reflected how little has changed today.

By: LOWER 007		2024-01-08 09:59:35

Not an easy read - parts were turgid and brutal. It set the scene for the time, and we learned a lot about the social fabric of England in the 1300s. Entitlement and privilege vs. serfdom.

By: CLUTHA 001		2022-11-17 12:08:56

We were all unaware of the historical event this novel centres on. It was brilliantly written and a great education.

By: CHCH 058		2022-08-23 12:09:38

Incredible variety in scores. "Well-written", "flowery", "inconsistencies", "too detailed", "too long".... to the extreme opposite of "hard to put down"! We enjoyed this period of history, and learnt quite a bit.

By: NELS 077		2020-03-26 21:17:02

Definitely our least favourite book so far. (Or maybe it was just because we were reading it as the COVID-19 crisis unfolded!) Most struggled to get into it and finish and found it hard going. Only one member enjoyed it.

By: LOWER 018		2019-12-12 13:46:19

Some found the first few chapters hard going, but enjoyed it as it progressed. We learned a lot about the Peasants' Revolt, and found the YouTube link useful. A frequent comment was that huge inequalities in society still persist, and we wonder where they may lead.

By: AUCK 166		2019-12-12 13:43:35

Interesting read - we hadn't known a lot of the history and several were inspired to do more research.

By: AUCK 307		2019-12-12 13:42:41

Most enjoyed - it provided a real feel for the time, and highlighted differences between the privileged and the 'peasants'. Very enlightening about a little known piece of history.

By: NAP 024		2019-10-11 10:24:48

A good use of historical facts used in this novel. Very good use of vocabulary which formed a "picture in the mind". You could feel and smell the crowds in London. It was gruesome towards the end.

By: RAUM 001		2019-03-20 13:12:46

Mixed reviews from our group. A slow start. Interesting historical period we knew little about. We all sided with the peasants.