Unique new book
The Civil Wars in 100 Objects
Intimate connections with a world turned upside down
£25.00 + P&P (UK only)
PRE-ORDER - Publishing 10th November 2025
The civil wars between 1638 and 1651 were the most destabilising conflicts that the British and Irish peoples have ever endured.
During these turbulent times ordinary people everywhere in the British Isles experienced a dizzying world of change.
In this unique book, leading historians access this world of impoverishment, bereavement and suffering alongside exciting changes in religion, science, and politics.
Through the prism of 100 beautifully illustrated objects, from propaganda manuscripts to household goods, through the personal possessions and weapons of the famous, to the architecture that defined religious and military change, these objects offer intimate connections with the past and shed new light on these tumultuous times.
Exploring
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Causes and Origins
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The Story of the Fighting
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Daily Life
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The Human Costs and Material Destruction
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The World Turned Upside Down
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Consequences, Legacies and Remembrance
Contributions from distinguished historians
Including 34 contributors from universities, museums and the heritage sector.
EDITOR
Professor Andrew Hopper
Professor in Local and Social History at the University of Oxford and Principal Investigator of the Civil War Petitions Project.
Waseem Ahmed is a PhD candidate at University College London researching a thesis examining everyday politics in revolutionary England, 1649-1660.
Dr David Appleby is Lecturer in Early Modern British History at the University of Nottingham and Co-Investigator on the Civil War Petitions Project.
Dr Ian Atherton is Senior Lecturer in History at Keele University.
Dr Stewart Beale is Editor for Public Policy at Palgrave Macmillan.
Professor Martyn Bennett is Professor of Early Modern History at Nottingham Trent University.
Dr Lloyd Bowen is Reader in Early Modern and Welsh History at the University of Cardiff and Co-Investigator on the Civil War Petitions Project.
Gail Boyle is Senior Curator (Archaeology and World Cultures) at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery.
Professor Richard Cust is Emeritus Professor in History at the University of Birmingham.
Dr Mandy de Belin is Honorary Visiting Fellow to the Centre for Regional and Local History, University of Leicester.
Keith Dowen is Assistant Curator of Arms and Armour at the Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds.
Dr Holly Dugan is Associate Professor of English at the George Washington University.
Professor Jacqueline Eales is Professor Emerita at Canterbury Christ Church University.
Jonathan Ferguson is Keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds.
Denise Greany is Learning and Participation Officer at the National Civil War Centre.
Dr Joel Halcomb is Lecturer in Early Modern History at the University of East Anglia.
Dr Maureen Harris is manager of the NLHF-funded 'Loss Accounts' project supported by Warwickshire CRO and 'Friends', and the Dugdale Society.
Dr Grace Hoffman undertook her doctoral research on the language of insult and slander within the 1641 Depositions at Trinity College Dublin.
Professor Ann Hughes is Professor Emerita of Early Modern History at Keele University.
Glyn Hughes is Collections and Exhibitions Manager at the National Civil War Centre.
Rev. Dr Stuart Jennings is part of the Centre for Lifelong Learning and the Chaplaincy at the University of Warwick.
Dr Andrew Lind is Lecturer in the Institute of Northern Studies at the University of the Highlands and Islands.
Mark Linnell is Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Naseby Battlefield Project.
Dr Oresta Muckute undertook her doctoral research on harm and welfare in England, Wales and Ireland during the Civil Wars at the University of Leicester.
Anastasia O’Brien is a barrister who was called to the Bar in 2019. She completed a Master's degree dissertation at the University of Oxford on the religious conversions of the Irish nobility in the seventeenth century.
Stuart Orme is Curator of the Cromwell Museum, Huntingdon.
Dr Imogen Peck is Assistant Professor in British History at the University of Birmingham.
Dr Ismini Pells is Departmental Lecturer in Local and Social History at the University of Oxford and Project Manager of the Civil War Petitions Project.
Professor Carla Pestana is Distinguished Professor and Joyce Appleby Endowed Chair of America in the World at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Sophie Rice is a PhD candidate at Nottingham Trent University researching a thesis entitled ‘Dying well during the British civil wars’.
Rebecca Shawcross is Senior Shoe Curator with Northampton Museums.
Rik Sowden is a freelance heritage professional, writer, historical interpreter and educator.
Professor Mark Stoyle is Professor of History at the University of Southampton and Co-Investigator on the Civil War Petitions Project.
Kevin Winter is Collections and Exhibitions Officer at the National Civil War Centre.
Henry Yallop is Keeper of Edged Weapons and Armour at the Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds.