Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector (1653-8) is frequently described as 'king in all but name' without explaining exactly what this means. This book aims to correct the omission by demonstrating precisely in what way Cromwell's rule was a monarchical regime in the generally accepted sense of the term. The author challenges many widely held views about Cromwell, resulting in a portrayal of the man and his regime which is far removed from the stereotypical image of the Protector.
For centuries, rumors have circulated in England that Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell did not die of natural causes. Now, in a fascinating book that reads like a historical whodunit, we have a motive, a means, a murderer (complete with his own deathbed confession), and a supporting cast that includes John Milton and Andrew Marvell. Almost from the moment of Cromwell's death in 1658, writers and biographers have dismissed suspicions of foul play as little more than the result of a powerful person's unexpected demise. They have assumed that at age fifty-nine Cromwell was in generally poor health and that his government's collapse was inevitable. But his family was generally long-lived and, contrary to royalist wishes, his government was becoming established. As the crucial first step toward the restoration of the Stuart monarchy in 1660, his death proved to be a turning point in British history. In a wide-ranging investigation that draws upon the fields of history, toxicology, medical forensics, and literature, H.F. McMains offers a fresh reading of evidence that has sat quietly in libraries and archives for more than two centuries. He examines the development of Cromwell's illness in 1658, analyzes his symptoms, and evaluates persons with motive, method, and opportunity to do him harm. The result is a reassessment of Cromwell's relationship with the English people and their government and a convincing investigation of his mysterious death.
Although he styled himself 'His Highness', adopted the court ritual of his royal predecessors, and lived in the former royal palaces of Whitehall and Hampton Court, Oliver Cromwell was not a king - in spite of the best efforts of his supporters to crown him. Yet, as David Horspool shows in this illuminating new portrait of England's Lord Protector, Cromwell, the Puritan son of Cambridgeshire gentry, wielded such influence that it would be a pretence to say that power really lay with the collective. The years of Cromwell's rise to power, shaped by a decade-long civil war, saw a sustained attempt at the collective government of England; the first attempts at a real Union of Britain; the beginnings of empire; a radically new solution to the idea of a national religion; atrocities in Ireland; and the readmission to England of the Jews, a people officially banned for over three and a half centuries. At the end of it, Oliver Cromwell had emerged as the country's sole ruler: to his enemies, and probably to most of his countrymen, his legacy looked as likely to last as that of the Stuart dynasty he had replaced.
The first volume in a pioneering account of Oliver Cromwell--providing a major new interpretation of one of the greatest figures in history Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658)--the only English commoner to become the overall head of state--is one of the great figures of history, but his character was very complex. He was at once courageous and devout, devious and self-serving; as a parliamentarian, he was devoted to his cause; as a soldier, he was ruthless. Cromwell's speeches and writings surpass in quantity those of any other ruler of England before Victoria and, for those seeking to understand him, he has usually been taken at his word. In this remarkable new work, Ronald Hutton untangles the facts from the fiction. Cromwell, pursuing his devotion to God and cementing his Puritan support base, quickly transformed from obscure provincial to military victor. At the end of the first English Civil War, he was poised to take power. Hutton reveals a man who was both genuine in his faith and deliberate in his dishonesty--and uncovers the inner workings of the man who has puzzled biographers for centuries.
The classic, bestselling biography of one of the most controversial figures in British history from 'One of the finest historians of the age' The Times Literary Supplement From Fenland farmer and humble backbencher to stalwart of the good old cause and the New Model Army, Oliver Cromwell became the key figure of the Commonwealth, and ultimately Lord Protector. In this fascinating and insightful biography, Christopher Hill reveals Cromwell's life from his beginnings in Huntingdonshire to his brutal end. Hill brings all his considerable knowledge of the period to bear on the relationships God's Englishman had with God and England, giving an unprecedented insight vital to understanding Cromwell.
Now available in paperback, Cromwell's Legacy is an exciting collection of essays by scholars who are well-known in their fields of research, most of whom have a proven track record of making their scholarship accessible to a wide student and general readership. This study examines different ways in which Cromwell's life and work impacted on Britain and the rest of the world after his death. Each contributor examines Cromwell's legacy, including not only the important central question of Cromwell's impact on the religious, military and political life of Britain after his death but also Britain's relations with Europe and future developments in both North and South America. The structure of this book has been designed to give as wide a coverage of time and place as possible. This book not only sheds light on an aspect of Cromwellian studies that has been comparatively neglected, it will also stimulate further work on this topic.
