-7% $47.35$47.35
FREE delivery February 7 - 25
Ships from: BOOKS etc. _ Sold by: BOOKS etc. _
$14.47$14.47
FREE delivery January 29 - February 3
Ships from: ThriftBooks-Phoenix Sold by: ThriftBooks-Phoenix
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Rebellion: Britain's First Stuart Kings, 1567-1642 Illustrated Edition
Purchase options and add-ons
Both James VI and I and his son Charles I were reforming monarchs, who endeavoured to bolster the authority of the crown and bring the churches in their separate kingdoms into closer harmony with one another. Many of James's initiatives proved controversial - his promotion of the plantation of Ulster, his reintroduction of bishops and ceremonies into the Scottish kirk, and his stormy relationship with his English parliaments over religion and finance - but he just about got by. Charles, despite continuing many of his father's policies in church and state, soon ran into difficulties and provoked all three of his kingdoms to rise in rebellion: first Scotland in 1638, then Ireland in 1641, and finally England in 1642.
Was Charles's failure, then, a personal one; was he simply not up to the job? Or was the multiple-kingdom inheritance fundamentally unmanageable, so that it was only a matter of time before things fell apart? Did perhaps the way that James sought to address his problems have the effect of making things more difficult for his son? Tim Harris addresses all these questions and more in this wide-ranging and deeply researched new account, dealing with high politics and low, constitutional and religious conflict, propaganda and public opinion across the three kingdoms - while also paying due attention to the broader European and Atlantic contexts.
- ISBN-100199209006
- ISBN-13978-0199209002
- EditionIllustrated
- PublisherOxford University Press
- Publication dateMarch 9, 2014
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions9.3 x 1.5 x 6.3 inches
- Print length608 pages
Discover the latest buzz-worthy books, from mysteries and romance to humor and nonfiction. Explore more
Frequently bought together
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Editorial Reviews
Review
Book Description
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Oxford University Press; Illustrated edition (March 9, 2014)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 608 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0199209006
- ISBN-13 : 978-0199209002
- Item Weight : 2.35 pounds
- Dimensions : 9.3 x 1.5 x 6.3 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #304,250 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #121 in Scotland History
- #242 in Trade
- #8,382 in World History (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonTop reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
- Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2014Professor Harris' summary of conditions which led to the Civil War is wonderfully and lucidly presented. The reigns of James I and Charles I, and the difficulties that each faced, are set out. Likewise, the personalities of each which, in part, presaged their failures are also well presented.
I would and have recommended these books to others. Perhaps, inevitably, this book might be a bit difficult without some background knowledge of the period. Yet, Professor Harris is better than most professional historians in providing a background for the non-professional reader.
Top reviews from other countries
- Devon GirlReviewed in the United Kingdom on April 29, 2014
4.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding book on a complex and often overlooked period
Tim Harris's book is clear, well-written and accessible to the general reader. It finally made comprehensible to me this important period of early seventeenth century history, which has suffered in comparison with the national obsession with the Tudors. It will not appeal to the growing number of people who seem to be unable to distinguish historical fiction from real history and are disturbed by the intrusion of 'facts' and intellectual argument into a serious book but as a synthesis of recent research and thinking on the first two Stuart kings, coupled with Harris's own interpretation of the period, it is likely to remain unsurpassed for many years. The only reason I have given it four, and not five stars, is that it has a wholly inadequate index, something that was pointed out in press reviews. It is somewhat astonishing that Henrietta Maria, the wife of Charles I, doesn't appear in the index, one of a number of curious omissions. Given the quality of the book as a whole, it is a shame that more care was not put into the process of indexing, and that neither Tim Harris or his publisher questioned this.
- gerardpeterReviewed in the United Kingdom on September 29, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars "How to reigne well"
Rebellion is a study of two kings and three kingdoms. The author carefully assesses the arguments of many generations of historians. He offers a judgement of James and Charles that stresses context rather than character. Contemporary sources – sermons, speeches and pamphlets - are quoted at length.
Many believe that had it not been for Scotland or Ireland there would not have been a civil war in England. Harris, however, works in the frame of “Britain”. When James succeeded Elizabeth, he took on the rule of Ireland and did not relinquish the government of Scotland. The ultimate failure of the Stuart project is to be found in the problems generated and the crises caused by this multiple responsibility.
He reminds the reader that the civil war did not commence to remove the King and was not initiated by Parliament. The King declared war on England as he had done already in Scotland and Ireland. How these things came about is a primary concern in Rebellion. Later events – regicide and republic – were forced by the war itself, to be treated separately. A strength of Rebellion is that it considers the whole kingdom, not just England and still less Westminster.
There is a risk of imposing modern ideas of monarchy and the wisdom of hindsight to damn Charles. The book begins with a chapter on Stuart ideas of kingship – “How to Reigne Well”! Then the author invites us to look closely at the problems and challenges faced and to consider with less prejudice decisions taken and consequences managed. There are a few illustrations and maps, but this is essentially a book of substance and argument. He presents sections by asking questions, inviting the reader to think for herself and engage critically but fairly with his text.
He finishes with a thoughtful conclusion. While the causes of final breakdown may be traced back even to Elizabeth, it would be wrong to assume it was inevitable. Compromise was possible even in 1642. He does not deny the flaws of Charles, but emphasises that a good king can come to a bad end too.
This must be the best modern study of the period.
- S. KayReviewed in the United Kingdom on July 31, 2015
4.0 out of 5 stars I enjoyed the book
On the cover, this book says 'Rebellion - Britain's First Stuart Kings,' so I assumed that it would cover the reigns of both James I and Charles I. I enjoyed the book, but was surprised when it stopped at 1642, thereby omitting the last seven years of Charles 1's reign, including the Civil War and Charles' execution. If the book was designed to cover all of James' reign and the first two-thirds of Charles I, then to me it succeeded brilliantly, but it plainly did not cover the complete reign of the second Stuart king.
- Amazon CustomerReviewed in the United Kingdom on June 19, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
Enjoy it
- Ronald AllanachReviewed in the United Kingdom on April 17, 2016
3.0 out of 5 stars I liked this book but I do not rate it as ...
I liked this book but I do not rate it as highly as his "Revolution". Whereas previously Tim Harris has given us "the word on the street" when discussing the travails of the later Stuart monarchs there is less of the popular mood and more high politics in "Rebellion". Indeed the book starts with a long section on what people were writing about Divine Right monarchy. For people who are not studying history at degree level but like to read good academic books and want to consider the cause of the Civil War then I would recommend the late Prof the Earl Russell's "The Causes of the English Civil War" as a short starter to be followed up at greater length by his "The Fall of the British Monarchies".