9781422277638

Newton’s childhood saw the beheading of King Charles I in 1649, as depicted in a seventeenth-century woodcut.

Newton’s family are unlikely to have rejoiced when the Parliamentarians defeated the king in the civil war. They are thought by most historians to have been Royalists. Yet in later life, Newton showed many of the qualities that scholars associate with the Puritans: a strong interest in the Bible, thrift, discipline, hard work, and an avoidance of noisy and uproarious company. Puritans who exhibited these qualities must have made a deep impression on Newton’s character in those formative years.

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