The English Civil Wars: 1640-1660

Summary

A brilliant appraisal of the Civil War and its long-term consequences, by an acclaimed historian.

The political upheaval of the mid-seventeenth century has no parallel in English history. Other events have changed the occupancy and the powers of the throne, but the conflict of 1640-60 was more dramatic: the monarchy and the House of Lords were abolished, to be replaced by a republic and military rule.

In this wonderfully listenable account, Blair Worden explores the events of this period and their origins—the war between King and Parliament, the execution of Charles I, Cromwell's rule and the Restoration—while aiming to reveal something more elusive: the motivations of contemporaries on both sides and the concerns of later generations.