For King or Parliament? : Britain's Civil Wars 1625 - 1662 Book List

The literature on the British Civil Wars is vast and covers every aspect of the conflict, from the cut of uniforms, to detailed descriptions of campaigns and battles, to discussions of contemporary political and religious ideas, literature and philosophy. This book list is in no way comprehensive but includes a few titles which I have found useful and it would be helpful if you could look at the two titles labelled 'Essential' before you come on the course if this is a new subject for you. I will be giving out supplementary readings lists during the course and by the end you will have a comprehensive bibliography to take away with you. Both the books marked 'Essential' are in print and available from good book shops or Amazon.

I have also included a few website addresses at the end of the list which will take you to particularly useful sites. Again, there is a vast and ever growing body of data available on the web concerning the Civil Wars and it is particularly useful if you just want to find out some basic facts about an individual or event. I would urge you to use websites with care, just because it is on the web does not necessarily make it true or accurate!

ESSENTIAL

Ashley, M. The English Civil War - Revised Ed.
Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 2001.
(A good, illustrated narrative which covers the period up to 1660).

Purkiss, D. The English Civil War: A People's History.
London: HarperCollins, 2006.
(An excellent, modern study which focuses on the experience of 'ordinary people' in the conflict).

BACKGROUND

Braddick, M. God's Fury, England's Fire: A New History of the English Civil Wars.
London: Penguin/Allen Lane, 2008.

Carlton, C. Charles I: The Personal Monarch.
London: Routledge, 1983.

Carlton, C. Going to the Wars: The Experience of the British Civil Wars, 1638-1651.
London: Routledge, 1992.

Hill, C. God's Englishman: Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution.
London: Penguin, 1970.

Hill, C. The World Turned Upside Down: Radical Ideas During the English Revolution.
London: Penguin, 1975.

Kenyon, J. The Civil Wars of England.
London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1988.

Morrill, J. The Revolt of the Provinces: Conservative and Radicals in the English Civil Wars, 1630-1650.
London: Longman, 1980.

Morrill, J. (Ed) Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution.
London: Longman, 1990.

Parry, G. The Seventeenth Century: The Intellectual and Cultural Context of English literature, 1603-1700.
London: Longman, 1989.

Richardson, R.C. The Debate on the English Revolution Revisited - 3rd Edition.
Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1998.

Spencer, C. Prince Rupert: The Last Cavalier.
London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2007.

WEBSITES

British Civil Wars, Commonwealth and Protectorate.
A general site dedicated to the Civil Wars, with excellent links.

Adams and Stephens Select Documents of English Constitutional History
Transcripts of English constitutional documents, including many from the Civil Wars.

The Oliver Cromwell website.

The Trial of Charles I (1649): Selected Links & Bibliography
A site dedicated to the trial and execution of Charles I, reproducing many original documents.

Andrew Lacey
March 2010

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