‘An oldfashioned Westminster thriller. You could hardly find a more engrossing or exciting story’ Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times‘Energetic and exceptional . . . A rollicking history, packed with fire and excitement’ TelegraphA nation on the cusp of war. A king ousted from his capital by the people. A society on the brink of collapse. Why did the English Civil War break out? From Jonathan Healey comes a thrilling portrait of an English people’s great political awakening, and of a nation that splintered into bloodshed at a terrifying speed. ‘Teems with largerthanlife personalities and dramatic incident . . . The House of Cardsish drama remains gripping to the last’ Literary Review‘A galloping narrative . . . Gives us gripping history from below as well as above’ Financial Times