The english civil war - what happened there then?

[NanBullen]

Please can someone recommend a book about the civil war, i know nothing about this period of history and think i really should!

I've looked on amazon but there isn't really much to choose from, maybe i'm not using the correct search terms? I'm looking under english civil war (obviously although it throws up books about the american civil war too ) oliver cromwell and charles 1st. I've downloaded a few samples to try but most seem to assume you know something about this period of history and I really don't

[tribpot]

How about this one?

Antonia Fraser has various books about Cromwell.

[NanBullen]

Thanks will download a sample. I thought antonia fraser only did fiction, will have a look

[tribpot]

No, she's primarily a historian.

It's a shame Alison Weir doesn't cover this period as she is very good at explaining the intricate threads of a complex conflict (e.g. the Wars of the Roses).

[ZebraOwl]

no such thing as the English Civil War

It is such ages since I've done any reading on this that my best suggestion is to look at the reading list for Paper 4 of the History Tripos - section 15 is about the Civil Wars but some of the other texts might be useful for context.