David L. Edwards’ comprehensive and detailed history of English Christianity is set in the context of its integral relationship with the social and political history of England. Recognizing the impact of Christianity on the lives and imaginations of the English, Edwards focuses more on people, literature, architecture, art and prayer than on ecclesiastical administration or theological controversy. The result is a lively and readable account accessible to general readers and students. In this, the second of three volumes, the narrative begins with the Reformation in the 1540s and tells the story of English Christianity through the storms of the Protestant revolution, the Catholic reaction, the Protestant and Catholic objections to the settlement made under Elizabeth I, and the Puritan explosion in the 17th century. The volume concludes in the relative security and tolerance of the 18th century.