A Revolutionary Rogue

Book excerpt: In this, the first and long overdue biography of Marten, Sarah Barber examines his turbulent career, his fascinating personality and his controversial politics. Vigorously written and argued throughout, the book analyses the two contrasting images of Marten: one a libertinistic, high-living rake, every aspect of whose life was unmeasured, and expressed in ribald joviality, shared with his adulterous partner, Mary Ward; the other a serious politician and thinker, whose views were, by his own admission, not widely held, but unusual, influential and feared. Barber argues that Marten's politics were indeed far more important than historians have previously thought. She also reveals Marten's key role in bankrolling parliamentary operations before and during the Civil War, and shows how assiduously and successfully the royalist presses worked to paint the blackest possible picture of him.