Britain in Revolution: 1625-1660 - Softcover

Austin Woolrych

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0199272689 ISBN 13: 9780199272686

Publisher: OUP Oxford, 2004

Synopsis

This is the definitive history of the English Civil War, set in its full historical context from the accession of Charles I to the Restoration of Charles II. These were the most turbulent years of British history and their reverberations have been felt down the centuries. Throughout the middle decades of the seventeenth century England, Scotland, and Ireland were convulsed by political upheaval and wracked by rebellion and civil war. The Stuart monarchy was in abeyance for twenty years in all three kingdoms, and Charles I famously met his death on the scaffold.

Austin Woolrych breathes life back into the story of these years, the sweep of his prose buttressed by the authority of a lifetime's scholarship. He captures the drama and the passion, the momentum of events and the force of contingency. He brilliantly interweaves the history of the three kingdoms and their peoples, gripping the reader with the fast-paced yet always balanced story.

About this title

Review

Britain in Revolution will serve as a useful summary of one of the most confused and confusing periods of British history ... students will find Woolrych a reliable guide. (Mark Kishlansky, Times Literary Supplement)

Britain in Revolution is a huge book in every sense, the distillation of a lifetimes-worth of teaching, researching and writing, resulting in a large, sweeping narrative account of a very high standard ... It is by some margin the longest and most substantial single-volume history we have of these years. (Peter Gaunt, Reviews in History)

Britain in Revolution is a splendid volume and a fitting high point of a very distinguished career. It provides a masterly political (and military) narrative of a complex period. The style is elegant and lucid and it is a joy to read ... From beginning to end, a complex story is related with great skill and a deft and judicious touch, and a mass of detail is carefully controlled, managed and moulded to form a clear and magisterial account. Britain in Revolution is a magnificent achievement and a magnificent book. (Peter Gaunt, Reviews in History)

This is a formidable and convincing study. Whilst the book can be dipped into, because of its clear and precise structure, the whole text should be essential reading for anyone taking an interest in the period. (History Review)

Edition details

• Publisher: OUP Oxford
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0199272689
• ISBN 13: 9780199272686
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 842