Author(s): Trevor Royle

History

The first complete general history of the English Civil War from its outbreak in 1639 to the last battle in 1659. 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. Author Information: Military historian Trevor Royle is well-known for his books on war and imperialism and was defence and foreign affairs specialist of SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY. Reviews: * 'Superb narrative history . . . Magnificent' Indy on S. * 'Has many virtues . . . we gallop the length and breadth of the British Isles, careering from skirmish to battle with the narrative