A study of the early modern period, from the creation of Monmouthshire by the Act of Union in 1536 to the beginnings of industrialization in the later eighteenth century. It explores the social concerns of this period, including the growth of urbanity and the commercial world, education, poverty and civil war, as well as religion and politics.

This is the third volume of the authoritative history of the county of Gwent, geared towards an understanding of the county's past for the twenty-first century reader. Volume III is a highly illustrated collection dealing with the early modern period of Welsh history, from the creation of Monmouthshire by the Act of Union in 1536 to the beginnings of industrialization in the later eighteenth century.