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I found the first 20% of this book a bit tedious as I got used to the style of English, but I'm glad I stuck it out. Eventually it became very natural to read and the beauty of the language is something I'm not sure I've encountered anywhere else.

At least through a contemporary lens I didn't get the impression it was political whatsoever. What it did seem to do was fill in the (many) blanks present in the corresponding biblical narratives.

In case anyone is interested, the full text of Paradise Lost with helpful annotations is available online at Dartmouth:

https://milton.host.dartmouth.edu/reading_room/pl/intro/text...

The book being reviewed by TFA is not itself a review of Paradise Lost, but a study of how people have interpreted Paradise Lost since it was published in 1667. TFA says 'The biggest story that Reade is telling is that of slavery.'

YMMV, but I don't think that this was Milton's main message - IIRC from reading PL years ago at school, the main story was Satan's rebellion against God. Satan was presented as a sort of heroic anti-hero, who has some great lines, although he eventually (of course) loses. So, I guess I'm saying please don't let this review of a book that highlights lots of peoples' reactions to PL influence your judgement of the underlying source text.

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