Christopher Hill turned thinking about the English Civil Wars (1642-51) on its head with The World Turned Upside Down. Instead of focusing on the power struggles of the elite—the battle between the monarchy and would-be republicans—Hill developed 'history from below,' investigating the lives of ordinary people, how they saw society, and their political hopes for the future. He uncovered dissent, unrest, and the desire for a fuller, permanent revolution in the social order. The desire for a fairer society was eventually squashed when the social elites were restored to power, but Hill's book remains arguably the best general history of popular radicalism of the time.
