This book considers the English Civil Wars and the civil wars in Scotland and Ireland through the lens of historical fiction—primarily fiction for the young. The text argues that the English Civil War lies at the heart of English and Irish political identities and considers how these identities have been shaped over the past three centuries in part by the children’s literature that has influenced the popular memory of the English Civil War. Examining nearly two hundred works of historical fiction, Farah Mendlesohn reveals the delicate interplay between fiction and history.

“In this book, a reader gets discussion of many rare works of fiction, which are nowadays hard to procure. … The meticulous work of bringing hundreds of post-English Civil Wars historical fiction (popular & unloved) at one place for discussion is what makes this effort praiseworthy and unique. This comprehensive book is a must-have for the readers, researchers and scholars of historical fiction in general and English Civil Wars in particular.” (Prashant Maurya, Rethinking History, August 6, 2021)

Farah Mendlesohn is Associate Fellow of The Anglia Ruskin Centre for Science Fiction and Fantasy, UK. She has a PhD in History, focusing on the Spanish Civil War She was Professor and Head of Department of English and Media at Anglia Ruskin University, from 2012-2017. Previous books include Rhetorics of Fantasy (2009) and Diana Wynne Jones: The Fantastic Tradition and Children’s Literature (2009).