John Pym: the Parliamentarian Who Took on King and Helped Ignite Civil War

John Pym was one of the most important political figures on the road to the English Civil War.He did not wear a crown, command cavalry charges or rule England as Lord Protector. His power was different. It lived in speeches, committees, parliamentary management, religious fear and the ability to turn grievance into organised resistance.To his supporters, Pym was a defender of Parliament, Protestant religion and English liberty against a king who could no longer be trusted. To his enemies, he was a dangerous agitator who helped turn lawful opposition into rebellion. He was not the only opponent of Charles I, and he did not create every crisis of the 1630s and 1640s. But when the moment came, he gave Parliament's challenge discipline, structure and force.John Pym follows his rise from Somerset gentleman to parliamentary strategist, through the struggles over royal power, religion, taxation, the Personal Rule, the Long Parliament, the fall of Strafford, the Grand Remonstrance, the Five Members and the slide into civil war.Clear, direct and readable, this book tells the story of the man who helped teach a kingdom to distrust its king, and helped set England on the road to revolution.