Oliver Cromwell: Commander in Chief
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Yale University Press
Published:27th Aug '24
Should be back in stock very soon
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.
“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 monumental achievement—the first in the great battalion of Cromwellian biographies to escape the long shadow cast by the Carlylean figure standing outside Westminster Hall.”—John Adamson, Literary Review
“We will no doubt see much more of this slippery, evasive Cromwell in a third volume focusing on the Protectorate, established in 1653, from when Cromwell ruled as a king in all but name. I cannot wait.”—Paul Lay, The Oldie
“[Hutton’s] version of [his] subject that [he] finally presents is compellingly distinctive and one for our times.”—Marcus Nevitt, The Spectator
“Hutton provides a new understanding of how this extraordinary figure was able to navigate the forces ranged against him and rise to the pinnacle of power.”—Military History Matters
“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
ISBN: 9780300278941
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
480 pages