Books in the History of Early Modern England series

The 1670s were the heyday of Restoration England - a period of experimentation, politicization, and strife. This work explores the richness and complexity of the decade, challenging existing assumptions about it.

Presenting an interpretation of England in the 1690s, this book reconstructs the reign of William III through the eyes and in the words of those who lived through it. The author employs a range of sources including popular ballads, correspondence, diaries, pamphlets, sermons, poems, and memoirs.

* Challenges the standard depiction of the 1660s as the beginning of a new age of stability. * Presents the Restoration as a process rather than an event. * Demonstrates that the 1660s were multi--faceted, dynamic and exciting.

Offers a narrative account of the events, troubles and triumphs of the opening decade of the eighteenth century - of the life and death of Prince George, the trial of Dr Sacheverell, the Great Wind of 1703, the duke of Marlborough's victories in Europe, and of the union of Scotland with England and Wales - the creation of the British nation.