Early Modern Europe 1500-1789

Since its publication in 1987 early Modern Europe (1500 - 1789) has become a bestselling, well-loved classic. Opening at the climax of the Renaissance - when an educated, city-based laity began to bring their special demands and sensibilities to bear on earlier traditions the book chronicles the dawning of a new age on the continent.

Combining the freshness of an interpretive essay with the breadth of wide-ranging historical synthesis, Koenigsberger paints a detailed picture of the Reformation and its significance as increasingly powerful nations began to intrude on their subjects' public and private lives. The text ends with a discussion of the conflicts between personal freedom and the rights of authority that shattered forever the old European order.

Early Modern Europe 1500 - 1789 was originally published as the central volume in the bestselling illustrated Series, `A History of Europe', edited by H G Koenigsberger and Asa Briggs, charting Europe's history from the collapse of the Roman Empire to modern times.