Parliament at Work

The political, social and economic changes which overtook England in the early seventeenth century forced Parliament to adapt from a medieval institution into one with authority over all facets of society; studies focus on particular cases.The political, social and economic changes which overtook England in the early seventeenth century were both powerful and dramatic, forcing Parliament to adapt from a medieval institution into one with authority over all facets ofsociety. Dynastic change, union with Scotland, fiscal reform, civil war, revolution and Restoration required Parliament not only to be at work, but also to discover how to work. These studies focus on change and development in three areas: firstly, the institution of Parliament itself, exploring its growing institutional sophistication and the problems connected with attendance, workload and physical environment; secondly, on Parliament's role within theinstitutional set-up of the constitution, and the structure and relationships of power within the governance of the country; and thirdly, on the public perception of Parliament, and the practicalities of the relationship between Parliament and the wider world. Contributors: JOHN ADAMSON, ROBERT ARMSTRONG, DAVID DEAN, MICHAEL GRAVES, PAUL M. HUNNYBALL, SEAN KELSEY, CHRISTOPHER KYLE, JASON PEACEY, PAUL SEAWARD.

The volume has great strengths...all the contributions are characterised by a degree of archival rigour.... A volume of high quality and importance., This collection provides a great deal of solid, well-researched and generally well-argued material on its subject. There is not one essay that is below par, there is evidence that the editors have worked hard to impose cohesion, and [...] the volume suggests avenues for further enquiry.