Product Description

No Englishman has made more impact on the history of his nation than Oliver Cromwell; few have been so persistently maligned in the folklore of history. The central purpose of Antonia Fraser's book is the recreation of his life and character, freed from the distortions of myth and Royalist propaganda. Cromwell was a man of contradictions and surprising charm. This decisive and ruthless commander was also a country gentleman and a passionate connoisseur of music. Of Cromwell's fitness for high office, this fascinating biography leaves no doubt. Under his rule English prestige abroad rose to a level unequalled since Elizabeth I, yet his campaign in Ireland has cast a shadow over his reputation. Antonia Fraser displays great insight into this complex man and reveals a totally unexpected Cromwell, far removed from the received stereotype.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #118986 in Books
• Published on: 2002-12-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 1040 pages

Synopsis
No Englishman has made more impact on the history of his nation than Oliver Cromwell; few have been so persistently maligned in the folklore of history. The central purpose of Antonia Fraser's book is the recreation of his life and character, freed from the distortions of myth and Royalist propaganda. Cromwell was a man of contradictions and surprising charm. This decisive and ruthless commander was also a country gentleman and a passionate connoisseur of music. Of Cromwell's fitness for high office, this fascinating biography leaves no doubt. Under his rule English prestige abroad rose to a level unequalled since Elizabeth I, yet his campaign in Ireland has cast a shadow over his reputation. Antonia Fraser displays great insight into this complex man and reveals a totally unexpected Cromwell, far removed from the received stereotype.

About the Author
Antonia Fraser has written many acclaimed historical works which have been international bestsellers. She was made CBE in 1999, and awarded the Norton Medlicott Medal by the Historical Association in 2000. She is married to the playwright Harold Pinter and lives in London.

Customer Reviews

Adequate history
History is generally written in 2 ways. Firstly for the newcomer to the topic a book turns these past events into an exciting narrative. Secondly the author assumes you know the story so can give away some of the key moments to reveal new information.

Either way is fine but the problems arise when you fall between both camps which this book does spectacularly. There is simply too much information in this book to make it a manageable read and anytime there's a battle the outcome is always mentioned before the description of what happens. The bloated amount of information could be forgiven if the narrative was compelling, but by giving away each turn of event before describing it means that the story itself is remarkably flat.

I have given this 3 stars because it does a good job of being even handed about Cromwell, there's no agenda and no overly modern critique of him and of course the overall story is a fascinating one- but it could all have been told in a far more compelling way in perhaps half the length.

Bit of a slog, but you'll get there in the end
I have read Antonia Fraser's work before but I wouldn't use this as an introduction to her work. I found that there was simply too much detail for my liking but it was nice to recognise some Irish place names where the Civil War took place that I recognise (and currently reside close to!)

Either I got used to the book or it picked up towards the end but I enjoyed it. Will I read it again? Probably. All that detail requires a second read from me. Any time soon? Probably not.

In need of a good editor
This is huge bloated whale of a book that runs to 706 pages. It is the first and last book by Antonia Fraser that I shall read. My main criticism of it is that it contains a vast wealth of information, much of it extraneous and yet skips lightly over some of the main events of the time. It is also full of supposition and pointless speculation...

The book contains huge amounts of similar guff, while not adequately describing some of the key events of the time. The dissolution of the "Barebones Parliament" is handled very unsatisfactorily, and no adequate explanation is given of the parliaments failure. I could give many other examples, but one more should suffice. In 1656 the English fleet captured the Spanish treasure fleet, which I would think merited some discussion by the book. Presumably this event had some repercussions for both Cromwell's finances (in a parlous state at that time), and for England's relations with Spain. However, it is only mentioned in passing, and no details of the event itself are given...

The book is very much a biography of Cromwell and not a history of his life and times. She does manage to paint a full picture of Cromwell the man, but assumes that the reader is familiar with the history of the times. Having waded my way to the end I now feel like reading another, shorter biography of the man so that I can better understand the period. I think that that is a real condemnation of a 706 page book.