Winstanley and the Diggers, 1649-1999

Rating:
Summary: A significant scholarly overview
Review: This volume brings together papers from a Winstanley conference held in 1999 to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the Digger project. The essays are valuable for setting out clearly what can and cannot be known about Gerrard Winstanley, as well as making thoughtful comparisons with figures as diverse as John of Patmos, Milton, Blake and Marx. A couple of the papers expand upon the more general social context in which Winstanley acted. That said, these are conference papers by academic historians; literary gems they are not. Important reading, useful reading? Yes. Inspiring or inspired? Ah, no.