TIME TIMES
By Randy Boyagoda
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| An anti-Catholic protest at the Houses of Parliament in June 1780. Credit: Illustration from the collection of Antonia Fraser. |
When Amazon Prime finally starts delivering to heaven, Evelyn Waugh should order a copy of Antonia Fraser’s new book, “The King and the Catholics: England, Ireland, and the Fight for Religious Freedom, 1780-1829.” Fraser’s latest considers a topic close to Waugh’s tart heart: bleak Roman Catholic prospects in aggressively Anglican England. The reference to religious freedom in the book’s subtitle suggests why more earthly readers would find the book of interest, but, refreshingly, Fraser makes no effort to convince us that a centuries-old story of religious and political conflicts and competing minority rights remains relevant. Such confidence is rare today, given the easy temptation to gravely invoke Brexit and ISIS and Donald Trump and the Vatican. Instead, Fraser trusts that we can make the germane connections — or not. As far as she’s concerned, the story matters anyway. [
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| "THE KING AND THE CATHOLICS, England, Ireland, and the Fight for Religious Freedom, 1780-1829" By Antonia Fraser, Illustrated. 319 pp. Nan A. Talese/ Doubleday. $29.95. |
