Oliver Cromwell: Commander in Chief

by Ronald Hutton

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Pub Date 29 Oct 2024 | Archive Date Not set

Yale University Press

Biographies & Memoirs | History

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Description

The second volume in an acclaimed biography of Oliver Cromwell, from the capture of Charles I to the expulsion of the Long Parliament

In 1647, the Parliamentarians were divided. They had won the first civil war and the king was in custody, but disagreements over the way forward had led to a stalemate. As the leader of one party, Oliver Cromwell found himself again at the centre of events.

In the second volume of his pioneering biography, Ronald Hutton traces Cromwell’s career from 1647 through to his seizure of supreme power. These decisive years saw the execution of Charles I and the establishment of the Commonwealth of England, as well as notorious and savage campaigns in Ireland and Scotland. Cromwell’s political and military leadership were well honed after years of practice, but this was also the period of his greatest ruthlessness and brutality.

This groundbreaking account reveals a different kind of Cromwell, showing how he navigated the many forces ranged against him—and rose to the pinnacle of his power.

Advance Praise

“Hutton concludes that the ‘precocious democracy, liberalism and pluralism’ the British take for granted owe their existence to Cromwell. . . . We owe this remarkable man much more than we realise.”—Simon Heffer, The Telegraph

“A magnificent achievement. This is the most accessible and authoritative account of its subject. Cromwell emerges as both devious and manipulative.”—Mark Stoyle, author of Soldiers and Strangers

Praise for The Making of Oliver Cromwell:

“Sly, vindictive, glory-guzzling and ruthless. . . . Hutton has produced a superb, coruscating, immensely stimulating profile of the rising Cromwell.”—Jessie Childs, Daily Telegraph

“An absorbing story of a man born into relative wealth and security, apparently lacking ambition yet with an impulsive, brooding temperament.”—Jerry Brotton, Financial Times

“Remarkable. . . . The Making of Oliver Cromwell is radical, powerful and persuasive, and it will cause a stir.”—Anna Keay, Literary Review

“The Making of Oliver Cromwell had me spellbound. . . . The product of a lifetime’s study, the book has changed my view of the Lord Protector.”—Andrew Roberts, BBC History Magazine, Books of the Year

“Hutton concludes that the ‘precocious democracy, liberalism and pluralism’ the British take for granted owe their existence to Cromwell. . . . We owe this remarkable man much more than we...