The Early Stuarts: A Political History of England, 1603-1642

When Roger Lockyer's political history of the reigns of James I and Charles I, up to the outbreak of civil war in 1642, first appeared in 1989 it met with a general welcome for its calm, sensible, informed analysis of these eventful years; for its ease and clarity of style; and for its return to the writings and speeches of the time to understand, and animate, the issues that were of central importance to early Stuart Britain. Now, almost a decade on, Roger Lockyer has substantially reworked the entire book, tightening the structure, and updating and significantly expanding the text. There are new chapters on Scotland and Ireland, greatly strengthening the "British" dimension of the analysis; on the personal rule of Charles I; and a welcome new final chapter examining recent historiographical controversies, and reassessing our current understanding of the causes of the Civil War.