Philip Quenby loves to tell stories of fascinating characters from history, showing how their lives many years ago still speak to us in the modern age.
His latest book, One Small Candle, published as an excellent gift for Christmas 2022, focuses on the Mayflower Pilgrims, their extraordinary lives and their voyage from Plymouth to Massachusetts.
Former lawyer Quenby is best-known for his five-part documentary Magna Carta Unlocked in which he examines how and why modern civil liberties grew on the back of a failed peace treaty. The ideas behind the Magna Carta have influenced the world for 800 years; in this new book, Philip focuses on how it led to ordinary English families leaving their homes and their livelihoods 400 years ago to sail to the New World and build a colony, with a new form of government based on equality, liberty and justice.
Many of their experiences would be familiar to us today – climate change, technological innovation and economic migration. But it was ultimately a question of freedom of conscience that led them to set sail.
Thanks to the efforts of Bible translator William Tyndale, the Bible was now available to the general public in the vernacular, but readers who challenged King James’ autocratic view of Church and State soon found themselves opposed by those in authority.
“Sometimes we need the help of the past to illuminate the present,” Philip suggests.
“At a time of confusion about our values and freedoms – where they come from, whether they are worthwhile, even what they are – there could scarcely be a better time to go back and reflect on original sources. This is the story of the Pilgrims, but it is also our story.”
One Small Candle is published by Onwards and Upwards and is on sale at Waterstones and Amazon (ISBN 9781788157490/RRP £7.99).
