Cromwell and the Interregnum: The Essential Readings

This reader brings together eight of the most influential recent articles on Oliver Cromwell and the Interregnum. It focuses on the years from Charles I’s execution in 1649 to Cromwell’s own death in 1658.

The articles explore key themes, such as Cromwell’s complex personality, beliefs and motives; the nature of his role and influence during the Interregnum; his relationships with Parliaments, the Army and the Council; and the impact of the Commonwealth and Protectorate on British politics and society. They represent the diversity of approaches and perspectives that historians have brought to these issues, but all of them explore why Cromwell never achieved enduring political stability. The book is British in scope, including treatments of Ireland and Scotland as well as England.

The volume opens with an editorial introduction to recent controversies in the field, and each essay is prefaced with a headnote setting it within its historiographical context.