Cavaliers and Roundheads
-
- $16.99
-
- $16.99
Publisher Description
This social as well as a military history recreates the scenes of civil war in England, between 1642 and 1649.
The book is enlivened by character sketches not only of the leading participants (Charles I, Prince Rupert, Oliver Cromwell), but also of the numerous lesser characters, male and female, who took part in the desperate conflict. Families and friends were bitterly divided as men left home to fight for King or Parliament. Castles and towns were besieged and sacked. Houses were plundered, churches desecrated and some 200,000 lives were lost.
About the author
Christopher Hibbert was described by Professor Sir John Plumb as a ‘writer of the highest ability’ and by the ‘New Statesman’ as ‘a pearl of biographers’. He is our leading popular historian whose works reflect meticulous scholarship. His much-acclaimed books include ‘The Destruction of Lord Ralgan’, ‘The Court at Windsor, London’ and ‘Rome: Biography of a City’.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
As King Charles I was led to his execution, guards blew smoke into his face. This vividly dramatic, engrossing chronicle of the English Civil War is crammed with such curious and revealing detail. English historian Hibbert keeps historical analysis to a minimum and emphasizes minor skirmishes instead of major battles in an unconventional narrative that superbly illuminates the human dimensions and costs of the war. He recreates the carnage on the battlefield, the pillaging and vandalism of towns. Conscription was stubbornly resisted; recruits who failed to report received the death penalty; astrologers helped the king formulate military strategy. Hibbert keenly profiles dozens of characters, especially Oliver Cromwell, transformed by the war from a melancholy, unambitious ``clumsy farmer'' into a relentlessly determined leader who saw his soldiers as God's faithful servants and promised them rewards in the hereafter. Photos. History Book Club alternate.
