audiobook The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh: A Woman in World History by Linda Colley in History

Review

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. this is a great resource to demonstrate the state of the world in ...By E. SainioThe Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh is a fascinating tale of a world we cannot remember or recognize. Elizabeth Marsh; of questionable race; origins; and status; traveled the world and saw the ways it interacted with different people. At times treated as a half-slave or as a member of the conquering aristocracy; Elizabeth Marsh illustrated the globalization of trade networks and travel during the 18th century; a world where the United States did not yet exist; pirates roamed the seas; and where her admittedly scarcely-documented life was lived. Elizabeth Marsh lived in tumultuous times; and faced them with resourcefulness and skill as she sought the shelter of places free from the storms of war and violence.For historians; this is a great resource to demonstrate the state of the world in a particular time and to use one person's life to illustrate the variable nature of society; status; and women's rights. One fantastic bit comes from Colley's preface; where she notes that many historians and biographers often choose to shorten or minimize the names within their books. By contrast; Colley shows that a woman like Elizabeth Marsh changed names and identities; she married; but had companionship with an unmarried man; Elizabeth Marsh is the way to identify a woman without demeaning her accomplishments or acting unduly familiar (no Lizzies here).Last; Colley's work pulls on resources from a half-dozen nations; including some who came of being within Elizabeth Marsh's life. I would challenge many readers to understand the ways that this forces a historian to spread themselves thin. Thinking of all the biographers who can barely encompass a biography in one nation and one language; the sheer scale and depth of this book is impressive; even if it cannot make up materials to tell a more compelling tale of Elizabeth Marsh's life.6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. A Prism For Viewing The 18th Century WorldBy ChimonshoLinda Colley came across Ms. Marsh while researching her earlier "Captives;" and found her compelling enough to devote a full work to her. The author utilizes a broad range of sources in reconstructing the life of an obscure person; albeit one who published her own pirate yarn after ransom from Morocco. How obscure? Colley did not unearth any images of her subject; and cannot finally determine Marsh's racial composition. But Marsh personifies the connections and networks within which 18C global travelers made their way; so her story tells us a great deal about her world. The narrative moves briskly for the most part; though details of family business affairs are tedious at times; "Ordeal" well conveys the sense of a rapidly changing; increasingly mobile world (globalization long predates NAFTA and the Internet). It quite effectively engenders 18C world history from the perspective of an unusual but representative woman's life. As a Royal Navy brat she had an advantage over other travelers of the age; often securing passage on ships that normally didn't take civilians; as a result she probably saw more of the world than any female contemporary. The tides of history often buffeted Marsh so that she did not control her destiny; but she emerges as a strong-willed woman in an era with little use for them.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Good readBy Karl KrotkeThis is an interesting work for a World History class. Not a gender history in my opinion.