This history of the civil war recounts the effects it had on the common people. The survey throws new light onto a century of violence and political and social upheaval. By looking at personal sources such as diaries, petitions, letters and social/public sources including the press, Martyn Bennett clearly sets out the true social and cultural effects which the wars had on the peoples of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland and how common experiences transcended national and regional boundaries. The book discusses exactly how far-reaching the changes caused by civil war actually were for both women and men and carefully assesses individual reactions towards it. For most people fear, familial concerns and material priorities dictate their lives, but for others the civil revolutions provided a positive vehicle for their own spiritual and religious development.