Overview

Why did England's one experiment in republican rule fail? Oliver Cromwell's death in 1658 sparked a period of unrivaled turmoil and confusion in English history. In less than two years, there were close to ten changes of government; rival armies of Englishmen faced each other across the Scottish border; and the Long Parliament was finally dissolved after two decades. Why was this period so turbulent, and why did the republic, backed by a formidable standing army, come crashing down in such spectacular fashion? In this fascinating history, Henry Reece explores the full story of the English republic's downfall. Questioning the accepted version of events, Reece argues that the restoration of the monarchy was far from inevitable--and that the republican regime could have survived long term. Richard Cromwell's Protectorate had deep roots in the political nation, the Rump Parliament mobilized its supporters impressively, and the country showed little interest in returning to the old order until the republic had collapsed. This is a compelling account that transforms our understanding of England's short-lived period of republican rule.

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Henry Reece is emeritus fellow of Jesus College, Oxford, and was previously chief executive of Oxford University Press. He read history at Bristol University and did his doctor of philosophy at St John's College, Oxford. He is the author of The Army in Cromwellian England 1649-1660. An experienced and award-winning actor, narrator, and singer with a degree in German literature, Richard Trinder trained at London's prestigious Poor School and has worked on stage, screen, and behind the microphone for nearly thirty years. His theater work has ranged from classical leading roles to pantomime dame, and most things in-between. On screen he has been a Harry Potter movie villain, fought alongside Doctor Who, smoldered as various soap-opera love interests, and appeared in over fifty TV commercials. He was the leading man in London's West End production of Mamma Mia! the musical for nine years. With an authoritative, fluent, and expressive style, his audiobook credits include AudioFile Earphones Award-winning history, Costa Prize literary fiction, romance, biography, and sci-fi for many major publishing houses.

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