Civil War: The Wars of the Three Kingdoms, 1638-1660. Trevor Royle

Product Description

One late summer’s day in 1642 two rival armies faced each other across the rolling Warwickshire countryside at Edgehill. There, Royalists faithful to King Charles I engaged in a battle with the supporters of the Parliament. Ahead lay even more desperate battles like Marston Moor and Naseby. The fighting was also to rage through Scotland and Ireland, notably at the siege of Drogheda and the decisive battle of Dunbar. The tumultuous Civil War was a pivotal one in British history. From his shrewd analyses of the multifarious characters who played their parts in the wars to his brilliantly concise descriptions of battles, Trevor Royle has produced a vivid and dramatic narrative of those turbulent years. His book also reveals how the new ideas and dispensations that followed from the wars – Cromwell’s Protectorate, the Restoration of Charles II and the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1689 – made it possible for England, Ireland and Scotland to progress towards their own more distant future as democratic societies.

Review

Royle’s account is a compelling reconstruction of two of the most turbulent decades in British history.―
Sunday Times

[A] superb narrative history.―
Guardian

Royle’s magnificent history cannot be mistaken for anything other than a tour de force.―
Independent On Sunday

About the Author

Trevor Royle is a well-known writer and broadcaster on military history. His previous books include
Orde Wingate,
Crimea,
Civil War and
The Wars of the Roses. He is a columnist for the
Sunday Herald, writing on international affairs and defence-related topics, and also writes scripts for the BBC. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.