RONALD HUTTON

An enthralling account of paganism in Britain from the Paleolithic Age to the arrival of Christianity

The second volume in an acclaimed biography of Oliver Cromwell from the capture of Charles I to the expulsion of the Long Parliament In 1647 the Parliamentarians were divided They had won the first civil war and the king was in custody but disagreements over the way forward had led to a stalemate As the leader of one party Oliver Cromwell found himself again at the centre of events In the second volume of his pioneering biography Ronald Hutton traces Cromwell s career from 1647 through to his seizure of supreme power These decisive years saw the execution of Charles I and the establishment of the Commonwealth of England as well as notorious and savage campaigns in Ireland and Scotland Cromwell s political and military leadership were well honed after years of practice but this was also the period of his greatest ruthlessness and brutality This groundbreaking account reveals a different kind of Cromwell showing how he navigated the many forces ranged against him and rose to the pinnacle of his power

The second volume in an acclaimed biography of Oliver Cromwell from the capture of Charles I to the expulsion of the Long Parliament

Praise for the author::For anyone researching the subject, this is the book youve been waiting for.Washington PostFrom the death of Richard III on Bosworth Field in 1485 to the execution of Charles I after the Civil Wars of 1642-48, England was transformed by two dynasties.First, the Tudors, who had won the crown on the battlefield, changed both the nature of kingship and the nation itself. England became Protestant and began to establish itself as a trading power; facing down seemingly impossible odds, it defeated its enemies on land and sea. But after a century, Elizabeth I died with no heir and the crown was passed to the Stuarts, who sought to remould the kingdom in their own image.Leading authority on the history of the British Isles in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Ronald Hutton brilliantly recreates the political landscape of this early modern period and shows how the modern nation was forged in these febrile, transformative years. Combining skilful pen portraits of the leading figures of the day with descriptions of its culture, economics and vivid accounts of everyday life, Hutton provides telling insights into this critical period on Britains national history.This the second book in the landmark four-volume Brief History of Britain which brings together leading historians to tell Britains story, from the Norman Conquest of 1066 to the present day. Combining the latest research with accessible and entertaining story-telling, the series is the ideal introduction for students and general readers.