This is an excellent biography of Milton, easy-to-read and always interesting, giving a real insight into Milton's life, his thoughts and his prose and poetry. The author doesn't gloss over some of the more unpleasant aspects of Milton's character but he also gives him credit where it is due for some of his attitudes and behaviours. It's clear that the author is a real lover of much of Milton's work and his selective use of quotations shows Milton's crafting of language, as well as some chapters which focus more closely on some of Milton's more important works. The book is particularly good at portraying the tempestuous times in which Milton lived, his work for Oliver Cromwell and his distrust of the established church and how this influenced his writing within his poems. It also focuses on Milton's own Christian beliefs and how they differ from most of those around him and how his family life, particularly his desire to divorce his first wife, was reflected in his work.