Synopses & Reviews
This essential volume offers students a number of highly focused chapters on key themes in Restoration history. Each addresses a core question or issue and uses a variety of sources to illustrate and illuminate arguments. The authors provide clear introductions to different aspects of the reigns of Charles II and James VII/II.
Review
"An impressive text - extremely well organized and highly readable." - Professor Melinda Zook, Purdue University
"This book is without doubt the most student-friendly of recent accounts of the Restoration period. It is well written, with a light and engaging style, and deftly argued." - Dr David Scott, History of Parliament Trust, UK
Synopsis
This indispensable introductory guide offers students a number of highly focused chapters on key themes in Restoration history. Each addresses a core question relating to the period 1660-1714, and uses artistic and literary sources - as well as more traditional texts of political history - to illustrate and illuminate arguments. George Southcombe and Grant Tapsell provide clear analyses of different aspects of the era whilst maintaining an overall coherence based on three central propositions:
- 1660-1714 represents a political world fundamentally influenced by the civil wars and interregnum
- The period can best be understood by linking together types of evidence too often separated in conventional accounts
- The high politics of kings and their courts should be examined within broader social and geographical contexts
Featuring chapters on the exclusion crisis, Charles II and James VII/II, as well as the British dimension, restoration culture, and politics out-of-doors, this is essential reading for anyone studying this fascinating period in British history.
About the Author
GEORGE SOUTHCOMBE is on the History Faculty at Keble College, Oxford. GRANT TAPSELL is a Lecturer in Modern History at University of St Andrews.
Table of Contents
Preface and Acknowledgements * Introduction: What was Restored in 1660? * Why were Dissenters a Problem? * What was at Stake in the Exclusion Crisis? * Was Charles II a Successful 'Royal Politician'? * Why Did James VII and II Lose His Thrones? * How Important was the 'British' Dimension to Restoration Political Life? * How Important was Politics 'Out-of-Doors' in the Restoration Period? * Why Study Restoration Culture? * Conclusion: The post-Revolutionary World
* Notes * Bibliography * Index