Prologue: The Battle of Lützen 1632
pt. 1. The descent to war 1638-1642. The illustrious hope of Great Britain
The personal rule
The crown and the kirk
'That glorious marriage of the kingdom with God'
The assembly in Glasgow
For Christ's crown and covenant, the First Bishops' War
Foul and horrid treason, the Second Bishops' War
The gathering storm
Ireland in flames
The storm finally breaks
pt. 2. The First Civil War 1642-1647. Father against son, brother against brother
First shots, Edgehill
The failure to take London
Hearts and cities, the war to win the centre
Western wonder, the war in the West Country
Changing fortunes, the war in the North
Stalemate
Keep your powder dry, Marston Moor
The pity of war
Smile out to God in praises, Naseby
Montrose's Annus Mirabilis
Things fall apart
Confederates for the King
The beginning of the end
The levellers and the Putney debates
The king's engagement
pt. 3. The Second and Third Civil Wars 1648-1651. Wales rises for the King
A summer of discontent
Nothing but the hand of God, Preston
Pride's purge
That memorable scene
The creation of a Commonwealth
Those barbarous wretches, Drogheda and Wexford
The curse of Cromwell
Prince of Wales, King of Scotland
A signal mercy, Dunbar
Hammer of the Scots
Hell or Connacht, the subjugation of Scotland and Ireland
pt. 4. The Protectorate 1653-1659. Winning the peace
My delight amongst the nations, the Anglo-Dutch War
Cromwell, Lord Protector
The Cromwellian settlement in Scotland and Ireland
'Silly mean fellows', the rule of the major-generals
Fighting the Lord's battles, the war against Spain
King Cromwell and tumbledown Dick
The King comes into his own
pt. 5. Restoration 1660. Revenge and restraint
The settlement of the three kingdoms
The civil wars and modern memory
Epilogue: Lexington and Concord, 1775.