Originally published in 1952 but here reissuing the updated edition of 1978, this book has long been established as a classic and a central text for students of seventeenth-century English history. The book covers every aspect of English life from the arrival of James I in England to the death of Queen Anne. The chapters on political history are organized chronologically, interspersed with thematic chapters which analyse change and development in family and social life, literature and the arts, scientific and philosophical ideas and the growth of the first British Empire.
1. Prologue: The Road to England 2. The Classes and the Masses 3. Family Life 4. Climates of Opinion 5. The Reign of King James I, 1603-25 6. King Charles I and the ‘Eleven Years Tyranny’, 1625-40 7. The Great Civil War, 1640-49 8. Oliver Cromwell and the Interregnum, 1649-60 9. A Ferment of Ideas, 1640-60 10. King Charles II and the Wars Against the Dutch, 1660-74 11. The Beginnings of Political Parties, 1674-85 12. The Age of Experiment, 1660-89 13. King James II and the Glorious Revolution, 1685-9 14. King William III and Queen Mary II, 1689-1702 15. Queen Anne and the War Against France 1702-13 16. The Peace of Utrecht and the Growth of the First British Empire 17. England Under Queen Anne; the Augustan Age 18. Epilogue: The Death of Queen Anne.
Biography
Maurice Ashley was a noted historian of the 17th Century and literary assistant to Winston Churchill.
‘A closely packed portmanteau of varied knowledge and mature thought, which travellers setting out on a voyage of discovery in the seventeenth century would do well to carry with them.’ C.V. Wedgewood, Time and Tide.
