Best General Survey of English Civil War??

[davidlpope]

I know that this forum is really designed to allow folks to review and recommend a book that they have read, but I need to come at it from the other end...

If you could purchase only one book and your goal was to better understand the armed conflicts on the island of Britain between 1640 and 1662 (and the distinctions between the Royalist/Parlimentarian, Presbyterian/Cromwellian, Scottish/English positions), what would it be?

Thanks,

David

[Deil the Yin]

You're probably not a slow reader like myself, but I've always found the Osprey Military Series to be really good overview of lots of subjects like this- well researched but not too academic (for borderline ADD folks like me). Here's a link to theirs on the English Civil Wars. Being a visual person (and artist/graphic designer) I really appreciate their great illustrations, and their concise presentation is also great for my limited attention span.

I'd say they probably don't have a single source for your list of topics, but at less than $15US each, it shouldn't be much bother to get several to meet your needs. Something to consider, yes no?

Cheers,
Wesley

[kilted scholar]

I can't speak for the military dimensions of the civil wars but there are two items I'd strongly recommend.

The first is a seminal article. It's by John Morrill, The Religious Context of the English Civil War, Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 34 (1984):155-178.
Before Morrill wrote it was widely argued that either constitutional factors or economic interests lay at the heart of the conflict. Morrill turned the discussion away from this, arguing that constitutional grievances were widely held but failed to ignite the passion that the theological and ecclesiastical issues achieved. He contends that instead of being the first in a series of European political revolutions it was, in effect, the last of the wars of religion. The problem for us is that it seems unthinkable that theology can be this powerful but in the seventeenth century it was a different matter.

As for the book, you might be interested to read Anthony Milton, Catholic and Reformed: The Roman and Protestant Churches in English Protestant Thought 1600-1640 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Milton is an eminent scholar of seventeenth century English social, political and eccelsiastical history.

[davidlpope]

Thanks for the replies so far. I'll track down a copy of the article to start with. The Osprey books usually have pretty good bibliographies, so that's a good idea as well.

David

[macwilkin]

The Cousin's Wars by David Fischer explains the connections between 1642, 1688, 1776 and 1861 for an interesting take on the British origins of American society and politics.

T.