The best books to understand how parliaments worked

This is a superb book. It is a comprehensive consideration of the business record of the upper house. What I personally find to be the more entertaining and interesting house of parliament, Foster has a rare ability of making the complex matters accessible, and making what might seem to be archaic or irrelevant procedures understood in their proper context. Despite the fact that the Lords could sometimes be consumed by seemingly unimportant issues such as hats and privilege, these episodes are expertly deciphered with a view to helping the reader understand that these issues were not just important to individuals at the time, but a brilliant window onto the nobility and how it was affected by the conflagration that was the Stuart period

Although it sometimes changes, if I were forced to choose, this is probably my most favourite history book. Even though it is now seventy years old, it still reads remarkably up-to-date. Like many of the other books on this list, it eschews the political history of parliament in order to focus on the institutional and developmental history of the medieval Irish assembly. Whilst a book with chapters on medieval taxation and the feudal state might not seem to many as being as fascinating, the passion and drive that is clearly evident in the authors is something that immediately infects the reader. The argument is jumping off the page and slapping you across the face. More than proficient in English medieval history too, they are somewhat of a rarity in written history of the islands in that they seamlessly slide from one to the other. The fact that it was a long-standing writing partnership (although frequently with an acerbic tone) makes it all the more unique.

This is a splendid exposition of the House of Lords in a crucial mid-Tudor period. Although it covers a relatively short period of time, it can do so because the author is so expert in his chosen field. Like all other books in this list, it concentrates on the procedures and work record of parliament and its constituent houses. However, it also looks at the composition of the house (the English Lords contained bishops and previously abbots and priors) and also the quality of those who sat—education, background, etc. With limited resources Graves also produces chapters on attendance, activity, and the management of business. It is both an in-depth but particularly accessible guide.   

This book is fascinating for many reasons, but in particular this work defines the nature of the relationship between the institution of parliament, the relatively new role of the parliamentary agent (in particular in this case, Robert Harper), and the community of landowners and others who needed to get private bills and local bills passed through parliament. Lambert's real achievement is the depth and level of expertise that she developed in this book on the minute detail of the procedure alongside the rough-and-tumble of parliamentary agency, bringing the local into contact with the very core of the legislative and judicial state. It's essentially about interaction.  

In many ways this book is perhaps the culmination of Elton's considerable published output on parliament, and one where he vociferously defends his outlook on the early Elizabethan English parliament. It is notable that he does spend some time attacking his previous mentor and supervisor, Sir John Neale, in a way that some readers may find more harsh than necessary. Nevertheless, when discussing parliament, the 'puritan choir', and what Elton terms the 'myth of an opposition,' he is producing parliamentary history of the highest order with an insight and writing style that makes for a book that would be difficult to surpass. Like Richardson & Sayles above, Elton's passion for this topic is clearly evident. Like all other authors in this list, he takes what might seem like a mundane topic to the uninformed and uninitiated, and brings it very much to life.