The Making of Oliver Cromwell (Ronald Hutton)

The early life of Oliver Cromwell, and his rise to prominence during the English Civil War—of a man both godly and wily, and the type of man who rises from obscurity in the hour of need.

A written version of this article can be found here: https://theworthyhouse.com/2023/01/16/the-making-of-oliver-cromwell-ronald-hutton/. This review first appeared in Chronicles magazine, which you should read, and to which you should subscribe.

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"If you know anything about Oliver Cromwell—and few do nowadays— you probably have an opinion about the man. Some vilify him; “A curse upon you, Oliver Cromwell, you who raped our Motherland,” the Irish rock band The Pogues sang. Others praise him as an enemy of arbitrary rule and a proto-republican. Ronald Hutton’s new biography of Cromwell’s early life and his climb to prominence makes no final judgment on the man, but it does offer a nuanced view of this complex historical figure. From Hutton’s excellent book we get not just history but the realization, in this desiccated age, that men such as Cromwell always emerge during great turmoil, rising as if from sown dragon’s teeth." . . .