Through The Glass Darkly: Britain’s Civil Wars

The dramatic events that shook Britain in the 17th century resonate more strongly than ever, despite attempts to marginalise them.

The celebratory exhibition held at the Royal Academy in early 2018, Charles I: King and Collector, was a reminder that the past is always viewed through the lens of the present. That lens has rarely distorted its object as much, or for as long, as in the case of the English Revolution. To see the extent of the distortion one only needs to compare how the US or France remember their revolutions with how the British state recalls the events of the mid-17th century.

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