The English Civil Wars: 1640-1660
By (Author) Blair Worden
Orion Publishing Co
Weidenfeld & Nicolson
1st March 2010
21st January 2010
United Kingdom
General
Non Fiction
Early modern warfare (including gunpowder warfare)
European history
942.062
Paperback
208
Width 128mm, Height 196mm, Spine 24mm
184g
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 readable 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.If you want to be informed about that unfortunate period of English history, Blair Worden's crisp 160-pager may well be the best place to start. - SUNDAY TELEGRAPH - Nicholas Bagnall
Blair Worden has taught at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Sussex and Chicago. He was Visiting Professor of Modern History at Oxford 2003-06 and is now Research Professor of History at Royal Holloway College London. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and has written widely on the political, intellectual and religious history of early modern England. He lives in Oxfordshire.