Customer Reviews

Oliver Cromwell

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In spite of dozens of books and virtually hundreds of articles published in specialist journals and dedicated to aspects of his eventful life, Oliver Cromwell is still one of the least understood figures in English history. As is the case with every person of some historical importance, assessments of Cromwell's political ambitions as well as of his successes and failures came to vary greatly over the years, and every new contribution to the understanding of this many-facetted personality thus has to be welcomed.

This book by Barry Coward, originally published in 1991, is one out of a series named "Profiles in Power" and consequently mainly dwells on Cromwell's personal traits and the peculiar circumstances that were to shape both his military and political careers. Indeed, the author barely sums up the social and above all the religious issues that dominated the life of every citizen in mid-seventeenth-century England - which is why anyone ignorant of the historical background will probably find it impossible to grasp most lines of thought as delineated by Mr Coward. By contrast, the book contains a wealth of details on Cromwell's life as a political figure and even proposes to present new information on questions related to his actual political eminence compared to the role played by his council of state. The book then ends with a fine bibliographical essay.

Clearly, this is in the first place a solid introduction to Cromwell the politician, and readers interested in his personal history had better turn to a more comprehensive book.

Cromwell was a complex character living in a complex century. With strong beliefs, both religiously and politically, he made astonishing decision changes like first presenting "the head of the proposals", wich compared with other options, was very beneficial to King Charles, and a few years later being the foremost defender of Charles execution! And why a parlamentarian would dissolve the (rump) parlament? Several other questions arise from the life of Cromwell, including the religious tensions among several Christian protestant faiths or between the army and parlament, and several myths that evolved with the historical person.

The author explains competently the context of each decision and their implications. Although the book isn't very large, it is quite revealing. Naturally this isn't the definitive Cromwell biography, but the author gives good indications about how the reader can investigate further (including the original speeches).

The only real weakness I've found in this work is the lack of material of the extremely important military career that elevated Oliver Cromwell to lord protector.