
This popular history of the English Civil War tells the story of the bloody conflict between Oliver Cromwell & Charles I from the perspectives of those involved. The compelling narrative draws on new sources such as letters memoirs ballads & plays to bring to life the Roundheads & Cavaliers the foot soldiers war widows & witchfinders of one of the most significant turning points in British history culminating in Oliver Cromwell's triumph & the execution of Charles I. By blending the political & the personal Diane Purkiss illuminates both the ideologies behind the English Civil War & the fears of those who fought in it; the men who were destroyed by the conflict & those such as Oliver Cromwell who were defined by it.