{"product_id":"civil-war-the-history-of-england-volume-iii-the-history-of-england-9780230706415","title":"Civil War: The History of England Volume III (The History of England)","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn Civil War   Peter Ackroyd continues his dazzling account of Englands history  beginning with the progress south of the Scottish king  James VI  who on the death of Elizabeth I became the first Stuart king of England  and ends with the deposition and flight into exile of his grandson  James II.  The Stuart dynasty brought together the two nations of England and Scotland into one realm  albeit a realm still marked by political divisions that echo to this day. More importantly  perhaps  the Stuart era was marked by the cruel depredations of civil war  and the killing of a king.  Ackroyd paints a vivid portrait of James I and his heirs. Shrewd and opinionated  the new King was eloquent on matters as diverse as theology  witchcraft and the abuses of tobacco  but his attitude to the English parliament sowed the seeds of the division that would split the country in the reign of his hapless heir  Charles I. Ackroyd offers a brilliant  warts and all  portrayal of Charless nemesis Oliver Cromwell  Parliaments great military leader and Englands only dictator  who began his career as a political liberator but ended it as much of a despot as that man of blood  the king he executed.  Englands turbulent seventeenth century is vividly laid out before us  but so too is the cultural and social life of the period  notable for its extraordinarily rich literature  including Shakespeares late masterpieces  Jacobean tragedy  the poetry of John Donne and Milton and Thomas Hobbes great philosophical treatise  Leviathan . Civil War also gives us a very real sense of the lives of ordinary English men and women  lived out against a backdrop of constant disruption and uncertainty.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44935026475061,"sku":"ByrdShop_023070641X","price":99.31,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780230706415.jpg?v=1787601374","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/civil-war-the-history-of-england-volume-iii-the-history-of-england-9780230706415","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}