A Short History of the English Revolution and the Civil Wars

James I and VI bequeathed his son a reasonably peaceful land in 1625, yet over a decade later, Charles I's kingdoms erupted one by one into open rebellion- this book explores how this came to be.
David J. Appleby explains how interconnected conflicts arose in the three kingdoms, and how they gave rise to a revolution which swept away the institution of monarchy and the House of Lords. This book shows how the embryonic English republic's need to counter domestic resistance and international threats caused the fighting to spread to the Channel Islands, the Caribbean and the American colonies. Combining his expertise of the Stuart monarchy and post-conflict culture with a fresh and accessible tone, Appleby unravels why the memory of this conflict remains culturally and politically relevant and hotly contested to this day.

David J. Appleby was formerly Lecturer in Early Modern British History at the University of Nottingham, and was made an Honorary Research Fellow on his retirement from university teaching in 2023. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and a prize-winning author and podcaster.