“Capacious and chatty. . . . Healey peoples these debates with a vast and vividly drawn cast of characters. . . . What the historian Conrad Russell once called ‘that hall of distorting mirrors, the search for the causes of the English Civil War,’ is, in Healey’s minutely particular account, a usefully refractory lens. Nothing, and no one, was altogether irrelevant.” —Catherine Nicholson, The New York Times Book Review
“A taut narrative . . . The Blood in Winter unfolds against an atmospheric reconstruction of Stuart society. In particular, Mr. Healey succeeds in evoking the sights, sounds and smells of the palaces, taverns and backstreets of London, where so much of the book’s action originates . . . The constitutional crisis of 1641-42 provides a warning of how swiftly a war of words and ideas can escalate into all-out conflict.” —Stephen Brumwell, The Wall Street Journal
“Netflix should make this enjoyable English civil war history into an epic drama. . . . An old-fashioned Westminster thriller, meticulously following the relationship between the proud, prickly Charles and his parliamentary critics. . . . You could hardly find a more engrossing or exciting story.” —Dominic Sandbrook, The Times (London)
“A lucid, fast-paced and exhilarating account. . . . The House of Cards-ish drama remains gripping to the last. . . . Vivid details brighten almost every page. . . . The Blood in Winter is a highly accomplished and impressively accessibly account of one of the most complicated and consequential series of events in British history. Its pages teem with larger-than-life personalities and dramatic incident.” —John Adamson, Literary Review
“Compelling . . . Expertly blends two very different historiographical traditions used to explain the origins of the English Civil War . . . [A] fine, engaging and judicious book.” —Marcus Nevitt, The Spectator
“Lively and engaging political intrigue, with surprisingly contemporary parallels. . . . It is to Healey’s credit that, while giving a detailed discussion of the complex arguments, he also evokes the many colorful characters involved. Alongside a king who teeters between pomposity and timidity, a queen who sells her jewelry in exile, and the humble-born Sir John Bankes, stuck ‘between a sow’s ear and the silken purse,’ readers are treated to a portrait of a smoke-, smog-, and mud-filled London, together with its inhabitants.” —Kirkus Reviews
“This is a rollicking history, packed with fire and excitement. . . . Energetic and exceptional. . . . A book that bursts with character, a vivid reconstruction of England on the brink. . . . It’s a pleasure to read Healey’s stylish and fluid prose, and he’s fantastic at conveying the importance of ‘split-second moments’ where the tide of history might have turned.” —Daniel Brooks, The Telegraph
“Healey has done it again. The Blood in Winter is history as it should be told, where new light is cast upon one of the most dramatic years in British history. Shaped by meticulous research and a narrative worthy of any political thriller, the result is masterful.” —Alice Loxton, author of Eighteen
“This is everything a history book should be. Healey fills his narrative with portraits of extraordinary characters, which combine to make his account of Britain’s descent into Civil War a truly human one. Nothing could be more relevant to us now, in this political moment, than a history like The Blood in Winter that gives an example of how fast and almost accidentally nations can fall apart, and the individual decisions of conscience that must be made along the way.” —Ophelia Field, author of The Favourite
“The build-up to the English Civil War is a political thriller like no other. Moving from field to street and alehouse to Parliament, Jonathan Healey captures all the tension and excitement of those critical few months when the country teetered on the brink. He shows clearly, immersively and with a tempo that matches the moment just how quickly a constitution can unravel and violence prevail.” —Jessie Childs, author of Siege of Loyalty House
“A gripping and elegantly crafted story. Jonathan Healey writes with clarity, compassion, and a keen eye for human truth. A truly affecting read.” —Rob Rinder, author of The Trial
“Bristling with energy, packed with humour and humanity, The Blood in Winter unfolds like a thriller to tell the dramatic story of how England collapsed into civil war in 1642. In his trademark clear and compelling style, Healey mines rich research for vivid treasures to give us narrative history at its finest: quite simply superb.” —Miranda Malins, author of The Rebel Daughter
“A superb history. Healey has the rare ability to make the 17th century accessible without being patronising, and to cover big and important themes while keeping the reader royally entertained.” —Sam Freedman, author of Into the Bright Sunshine
“Healey is in the vanguard of modern popular history, and The Blood in Winter charges like a squadron of cavalry through the tumultuous year that led to the civil wars, giving equal billing to the people’s politics that shook the streets of London and the arguments and doubts that filled the houses of parliament.” —Nadine Akkerman, author of Invisible Agents
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