This classic work of recent historiography broke the hold of the "old guard" on this key period of English history. It has now been extensively rewritten, and in its updated form reinforces its arguments with new evidence and addresses some of the historical preoccupations of the past fifteen years.

Introduction: the nature of the Old Order; 1. From restoration to reconciliation, 1660-1760; 2. The social and ideological premises of the old order; 3. National identity: the matrix of Church and State; 4. Before radicalism: the religious origins of disaffection, 1688-1800; 5. The old order on the eve of its demise: slow erosion; 6. The end of the Protestant constitution, 1800-1832: sudden collapse.