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Battlefield, Autumn 2022

As featured in

Battlefield, Autumn 2022

Highly recommended. The book starts by offering an overview of early Stuart rule and the outbreak of rebellion. Has some thought provoking material for someone who has already studied the period, but a reasonable introduction for those who haven't. Only occasionally does the writer assume that the reader is already familiar with the subject.

Very useful work showing the role of city finance in supporting Parliament and how the various trades and other enterprises were crucial in keeping opposition going against the monarchy. However, makes the point that there was always at least some pro-Royalist support, along with some citizens who changed sides when it suited them. The use of London apprentices , particularly in relieving the siege of Gloucester in 1643, is also looked at.
The writer's knowledge of the City of London- he is a respected tour guide- dates back further than the early Stuart era and extends well past the Great Fire of 1666.

Military history is not a major theme as such. Radical groups such as The Levellers and the Fifth Monarchy Men are featured but again not in a great detail in the book. . And this is probably one of the book's strengths- the writer is offering their own unique angle on a topic that they know well whilst the extensive endnotes show how they have also built on existing scholarship. A real achievement.

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A Burnt Ship

Robin Rowles takes a somewhat old-fashioned approach and the book is none the worse for that. He is impeccable in the way that he credits his sources and the views of his fellow historians, and he ensures that those with only a limited understanding of the causes of the English Civil War have these background factors explained. He then tackles his subject thematically.

The book takes you through the streets of the City and is good preparation for accompanying Robin on one of his London Civil War walks, which he lists with those on Sherlock Holmes and others on.
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Mike Paterson, London Historians' Blog

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Miniature Wargames, December 2018

Highly recommended. The book starts by offering an overview of early Stuart rule and the outbreak of rebellion. Has some thought provoking material for someone who has already studied the period, but a reasonable introduction for those who haven't. Only occasionally does the writer assume that the reader is already familiar with the subject.

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Amazon Customer

As featured in 'Reviews in brief'

WDYTYA?, August 2018 - by Fiona Flanagan