Republic

Britain's Revolutionary Decade, 1649-1660

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Pub Date 26 Sep 2024 | Archive Date 19 Sep 2024

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Description

A biography of a daring and an unprecedented decade: the 1650s

Events moved fast in the 1650s. Something cataclysmic happened every year, something that would thrust the newly formed republic, its people, and its eventual ‘Lord Protector’ Oliver Cromwell, in an entirely new direction. It was a time of bewildering change and uncertainty, but it was also a time of innovation and opportunity. And, for the men and women who lived through these years, this period was certainly not an ‘interregnum’. The restoration of Charles II in 1660 was not inevitable, nor was it welcomed by everyone.

England's unique republican experiment ­– imposed on Scotland and Ireland, too - may have been shortlived, but it has had a lasting impact on British monarchy, politics, religion and culture, and on the story the British continue to tell about themselves. It is a period that, for a long time, history chose to forget, or recalled as a failure. Here, in thrilling detail, Alice Hunt brings the republic and its extraordinary cast of characters, from politicians to poets and prophets, back to life.

A biography of a daring and an unprecedented decade: the 1650s

Events moved fast in the 1650s. Something cataclysmic happened every year, something that would thrust the newly formed republic, its...


Available Editions

EDITION Hardcover
ISBN 9780571303199
PRICE £25.00 (GBP)
PAGES 400

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Featured Reviews

Republic is a well-researched and meticulously written non-fiction book about Britain’s Integrregnum (1649-1660), the short-lived republic period.
The book has an excellent structure and covers all the years during the republic.
Hunt does not shy away from analysing the strengths and weakness of Britain’s experiment with being a republic - the prose is matter-of-fact, accessible and engaging, and yet, for the readers who are interested the regime under the leadership of Cromwell.
Alice Hunt is a an excellent scholar and takes her subject matter seriously. I am glad to have been introduced to Hunt’s work.
Thank you #netgalley and #faberandfaber for the eARC.

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Republic is an engaging and thought-provoking biography of a revolutionary decade in British history.

It's not a period of history I knew much about beforehand, but I found the year-by-year narrative clear and easy to follow. I had a strong image of the historical figures involved thanks to Hunt's astute characterisation and analysis, which is founded on a huge amount of research and utilises the protagonists' own words. Capturing the personalities at the centre of the action is crucial to understanding how the seismic changes of the 1650s came to pass.

Despite this sharp focus, Republic still manages to encompass a broad and rich history of the period. Hunt weaves literature, science and religion into the political narrative, showing how the changes in state impacted every aspect of British culture.

Republic is the story of a real turning point in British history, vividly brought to life in all its complexity.

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