The English Civil Wars, Blair Worden
The English Civil Wars, Blair Worden
List: $15.99 | Sale: $11.20
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The English Civil Wars
1640-1660

Author: Blair Worden

Narrator: Leighton Pugh

Unabridged: 5 hr 29 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 02/28/2022

Synopsis

A brilliant appraisal of the Civil War and its long-term consequences, by an acclaimed historian.

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 listenable 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.

About Blair Worden

Blair Worden is a historian, among the leading authorities on the period of the English Civil War. He has taught at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Sussex, and Chicago. After a period as a fellow of St Edmund Hall, Oxford, he took up a position as a professor at Royal Holloway, University of London. As of 2011, he is an Emeritus Fellow of St Edmund Hall.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Heinz on April 14, 2024

A workmanlike introduction to the Civil Wars of the 17th century. As is standard with more academic in tone works, the actual 'Wars' of the English Civil Wars are only peripherally mentioned. I was also struck by the authors dearth of military knowledge when he declared that the Civil Wars offered n......more

Goodreads review by Ed on August 09, 2013

A brief, readable, beginner's introduction to the period. While the writing style isn't what you'd call exciting, Worden does a good job of simplifying (as much as that's possible) a very complex period in English history, and presenting it in a way that makes sense. Don't come to this expecting in-......more

Goodreads review by Thomas on February 09, 2021

Finished this book after completing a module about the Civil Wars. I did this mainly because the module didn't cover the 1650s, so now that the module is finished I decided it was time to finish this book. It gives a nice (but very brief) overview of the Civil Wars, would recommend this to anyone wi......more

Goodreads review by Joe on January 04, 2024

A truly fascinating and genuinely eye-opening account into what I believe is a vastly overlooked and now can say a grossly oversimplified part of British history. I was gripped by how my initial understanding of the time period came unstuck and kept engaged by having that understanding built back up......more

Goodreads review by Paul on June 24, 2023

OK I have a rough grasp of the subject now. My god it was hard work though. It is as if the author attempted to make the book as hard to read as possible. The number of pages I had to re-read to try and understand the point being made was very high. The length of some sentences were ridiculously lon......more

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