Civil War

Civil War opens with the accession of James VI of Scotland as James I of England and ends with the deposition and flight of James II in 1688. Between those events, disputes over taxation, religion and royal authority lead to war between Charles I and Parliament, the king’s execution, republican government under Oliver Cromwell, the Restoration of Charles II and a renewed struggle over Catholic succession.

Ackroyd also follows the intellectual and social life of the seventeenth century, from court culture and religious radicalism to science, philosophy and the growth of print. The result presents civil war and revolution not as isolated constitutional crises but as upheavals that altered worship, family life, political language and the relationship between ruler and governed.