This work investigates the political, social, and religious evolution of England during the transition from the late medieval period through the consolidation of the Tudor dynasty and the subsequent upheavals of the Stuart era. Keith G. Feiling, a noted historian of the period, utilizes a chronological framework to analyze the shifting power dynamics between the monarchy, parliament, and the emerging administrative state. The text synthesizes primary political developments to explain how these two centuries forged the foundations of modern British governance.

Historians and students of British history frequently cite this volume as a concise, high-level overview of the early modern period. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which assumes a foundational knowledge of the political figures and events of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.