War in England 1642-1649

Barbara Donagan (Independent scholar at The Huntington Library, California)

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Hardback

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English

Oxford University Press
01 February 2008

History; British & Irish history; Early modern history: c 1450 to c 1700; Military history

A fresh approach to the English civil war, War in England 1642-1649 focuses on answering a misleadingly simple question: what kind of war was it to live through? Eschewing descriptions of specific battles or analyses of political and religious developments, Barbara Donagan examines the 'texture' of war, addressing questions such as: what did Englishmen and women believe about war and know about its practice before 1642? What were the conditions in which a soldier fought - for example, how efficient was his musket (not very), and how did he know where he was going (much depended on the reliability of scouts and spies)? What were the rules that were supposed to govern conduct in war, and how were they enforced (by a combination of professional peer pressure and severe but discretionary army discipline and courts martial)? What were the officers and men of the armies like, and how well did they fight? The book deals even-handedly with royalists and parliamentarians, examining how much they had in common, as well as discussing the points on which they differed. It looks at the intimacy of this often uncivil war, in which enemies fought at close quarters, spoke the same language and had often been acquainted before the war began, just as they had often known the civilians who suffered their presence. A final section on two sieges illustrates these themes in practice over extended periods, and also demonstrates the integration of military and civilian experience in a civil war.

Drawing extensively on primary sources, Donagan's study illuminates the human cost of war and its effect on society, both in our own day as well as in the seventeenth century.

By: Barbara Donagan (Independent scholar at The Huntington Library California)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 242mm, Width: 163mm, Spine: 33mm
Weight: 1g
ISBN: 9780199285181
ISBN 10: 0199285187
Publication Date: 01 February 2008
Audience: College/higher education , A / AS level
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

1: Introduction 2: Before the War 3: The Texture of War: the Soldier's World 4: Slay in Love: the Moral and Judicial Economy of the Civil War 5: The Protagonists 6: Case Histories: Two Sieges 7: Conclusion

Reviews for War in England 1642-1649

For those who know the narrative of the civil war well already, this book will offer exciting additional insights...For newcomers to this territory..this is the book for you. Anthony Fletcher, History Today [a] fine and deeply researched study Anthony Fletcher, History Today A very good book... written with an enviable lucidity and calm authority John Morrill, Times Higher Education Supplement Donagan's War in England 1642-1649 is the first really systematic treatment of the military culture of the Civil War, seen from within: a study of what the war was like to live through for the men who did the fighting. It is likely to be definitive on these questions. Michael Braddick, TLS

Winner of Morris D Forkosch Prize for the Best Book in Intellectual History 2008.
Winner of Morris D. Forkosch Prize for the Best Book in Intellectual History 2008.
Winner of Winner of the Morris D. Forkosch Prize 2008, awarded by the American Historical Association Shortlisted for the Longman-History Today Book Award 2008.
Winner of Winner of the Morris D. Forkosch Prize 2008, awarded by the American Historical Association Shortlisted for the Longman-History Today Book Award 2008.