The Fall of the British Monarchies 1637-1642 [Paperback]

A history of the dramatic events which led to the collapse of Charles I's authority in England, Scotland, and Ireland in the 1640s, this book links incidents in the king's three domains to construct a narrative account which makes sense of British history, as well as of the national story of each country. Russell traces the important role of the Scots in dividing the English, and examines the Irish rebellion in its contemporary context. Above all, he uncovers the role played by the king himself, and argues that Charles Stuart was not the passive figure portrayed by so many historians, but an active protagonist in the political events which were eventually to lose him not only one crown, but three.

Full of numerous imaginative and often-times original interpretations. --The Historian

This is an endlessly stimulating and thought-provoking book, to which scholars in the field will turn to repeatedly for its insights, whether to argue or to agree --Albion

In this substantial analytic narrative, Conrad Russell draws deeply on a wide range of manuscript and a more limited selection of contemporary printed sources to provide a detailed account of the outbreak of wars in and between Scotland, Ireland, and England during the reign of Charles I from the perspective of the highest social and political elites of the three British kingdoms --American Historical Review

This is a superbly researched book which is certain to become the standard modern account of the events that led to the outbreak of the English Civil War. It is a very full and lucid narrative whichwill be essential reading for all serious students of Stuart history. --Renaissance Quarterly

Recommended. --CHOICE

No one interested in the history of the English Civil War, in the shape of British history more broadly construed, or in the problem of state-building in early modern Europe, can afford to ignore thl“¿