Donna Scott’s Blog

The argument about which news sources are the most fact-filled or truthful is an old one. During the English Civil War, propaganda was used as a valuable tool to sway countrymen to support one side or the other—the Royalists or the Parliamentarians. Various newbooks on both sides were created to stir the pot and evoke fear in readers with the hope that they would understand that fighting the war was absolutely necessary. At the time, where you lived determined which side of news you were going to get. For example, if you lived in London, the midlands, and parts of east England where Parliament held the most influence and power, you would most likely read (if you knew how) and hear...

During the reign of King Charles I, the country is divided into two factions—the Royalists (or Cavaliers) who support the king and the Parliamentarians (or Roundheads) who oppose him. It’s a dangerous time in England, for brother has turned against brother and stating one’s allegiance to one side or the other could prove deadly. In Shame the Devil, the Blackburnes are destroyed by their loyalty to the king—lives are lost and futures are destroyed with a word. But how did this happen? How could a country turn on its king and demand he pay for his supposed transgressions with his life? What had he done that was so heinous to provoke Parliament to act against him? Actually there were several...