"A first-rate narrative account of a fascinating period in European history. The inclusion of the British Isles is especially welcome as is the due weight devoted to eastern Europe. Sturdy is alive to the varieties and ambiguities of European history in this period, and is not seduced by easy talk of the development of the modern state or simplistic assessments of absolutism." Jeremy Black, University of Exeter "Dr Sturdy has written an excellent introduction to seventeenth-century Europe for the student approaching the subject for the first time. He supplies in a lucid description the factual evidence essential to the formulation of thematic or analytical arguments about the period." Lionel K. J. Glassey, University of Glasgow "Sturdy's book is organized around geographical regions (including the British Isles) with a break at 1660 to consider some themes... a comprehansive and factually accurate a narrative [which] is a considerable achievement. Sturdy is to be commended for producing a sound textbook, which must have been the product of much labour." Graham Derby, King Edward VI School, Southampton