Product Description

Written by an historian, this is a compilation of interpretive essays which analyze the forces which Cromwell helped to create and which created him.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1021342 in Books
• Published on: 2000-10-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Customer Reviews

A true classic
It is a testament to Christopher Hill's skill not only as a historian but also as a writer that this book remains so fresh, more than thirty years after it was first published. The title, "God's Englishman", is still I think the pithiest and most apt description of Oliver Cromwell I have yet heard. A splendid first chapter sets the scene admirably, and while Hill's Marxism certainly influences his views of early modern England it by no means prejudices his analysis.

There follows a series of tightly written chapters breaking down Cromwell's life into different parts: fenland farmer and humble backbencher; stalwart of the good old cause and the New Model Army; key figure of the Commonwealth; and finally Lord Protector. Hill's knowledge of the sources is first rate and exhaustive - after multiple readings the only error I have come across is a misrepresentation of Cromwell's school teacher, Thomas Beard, who was hardly the devout puritan Hill makes out. What really brings these chapters alive is the skilful way in which Hill interlaces analysis with Cromwell's own letters and speeches. He is particularly good on Cromwell's troubled conscience as the Commonwealth turned into a Protectorship.

However, Hill's best is saved until last. In two phenomenal chapters Hill brings all his considerable knowledge of the period to bear on the relationships God's Englishman had with God and England. A detailed understanding of the workings of providence is vital to understanding Cromwell; only John Morrill and Blair Worden have really followed Hill's lead on this. Cromwell's sense of nation too, of England as a new Israel, underlies all of his most important speeches to parliament, and occurs many times in his surviving letters. Hill's survey is spot on.

To conclude, I cannot recommend this book enough. For the student fresh to the period it is an ideal place to start; for the more knowledgeable reader it is a treasure trove of insight and quotations. ANyone with a serious interest in the Lord Protector will certainly already own a copy of this book.

A great but slightly dated biography.
I couldn't decide whether to give this book four or five stars.

This book deserves five stars for its very well written, accurate and compelling portrait of Oliver Cromwell's involvement in the English Revolution. It has often been said of Cromwell that he represents the human incarnations of both Hobbes's Leviathan and Machiavelli's Prince.

Hill has followed this interpretation with a subtly sophisticated portrayl of the relationship between Cromwell and the 'forces' and events that surrounded him. What is most revealling about the book is its intricate disection of this relationship, and presentation of how history is made both by individuals and the circumstances they make and are made by, in this case, dealing with an historical giant like Cromwell.

Hill's Cromwell is, in a way, the model Puritan Revolutionary; God's Englishman driven by a divine sense of service and an instinctive drive to accomplish God's will. As such, Cromwell is criticised by Christopher Hill: in many ways he held back rather than helped the forces he had created, and often with a brutal, calculating wrath, shown in his treatment of the Levellers.

What lets the book down is not its central argument. Rather, written as it was over thirty years ago, it is somewhat dated, and the sections dealing with the historical background of the Revolution lack the insights of later historical work.

An unfortunate consequence of time. This cannot be helped. What can be helped is Hill's treatment of the life of Cromwell himself, the relationship with his family, and so on. I would have appreciated a little more insight here, but I saw that the point of the book, however, was obviously intended as a political history of Cromwell and England's turbulent decades.

The book remains essential reading for all those interested in the English Revolution. Dated, but it is the work of a great historian studying a great historical figure, Cromwell, for whom I begrudgingly have a deep admiration.

Iconic Book on Iconic Figure
Christopher Hill (1912-2003) was one of the key British Marxist historians of the twentieth century. He became interested in the English Civil War before the Second World War - when he also became a member of the Communist party. Later he served with distinction for many years as the Master of Balliol College.

The book has been fairly described - by Martin Kettle - as 'the bestselling (but not adulatory) biography'. Certainly it presents a captivating picture of a human Cromwell surrounded by the forces of God, providence, and Revolution. As such, and as a piece of writing of its time, it remains an essential volume. Nevertheless it does have significant weaknesses. Perhaps the most obvious is the lack of detail on Cromwell the soldier, and in particular on Cromwell's crucial role in the Second Civil War of 1648. As in many retrospective views of Cromwell Sir Thomas Fairfax is also reduced to relative insignificance.

Nevertheless an important and a highly recommended work which should now be supplemented by more recent studies for sake of completeness.