The most recommended books on Oliver Cromwell

This is the first book in a trilogy that follows multiple generations of a fictional Irish family. Set in the mid-1600s, Cromwell’s soldiers leave a trail of destruction behind as they attack towns and villages throughout the country. After his wife is killed in the massacre of Drogheda Dominick McMahon and his two children, along with a wounded priest, set out to find a safer place to live. The story is compelling and, although part of a trilogy, can be read as a stand-alone novel. It has everything I like about historical fiction – captivating characters woven into a series of major events that pull the reader into a bygone era.

Another lesser-known figure, Elizabeth is the wife of Thomas Cromwell. She has very little mention in the historical record but the author draws on what we do know of her husband, Thomas. Elizabeth Cromwell’s character is convincing and likable. I particularly enjoyed glimpsing another side of Thomas Cromwell, a more human side and I loved the descriptions of their imagined daily life together. The author doesn’t over describe but the sights, sounds, and smells of the city are touched on just enough to provide a sense of place. It was also refreshing to see a woman involved in business in her own right, the cloth trade is described with enough detail to engage the reader but never becomes tedious.

Although my professional interest is language and how to use it well, one of my hobbies is reading about history. 

Most of the history we learn in school consists of short snapshots about ‘important people’ and main events, but this misses so much of the story and is often misleading. This book shows that many of the ‘truths’ and ‘facts’ about American history that are taught in school are largely myths.

For example, Woodrow Wilson is usually portrayed as a hero who attempted to establish the League of Nations. While this is true, he also established racial segregation in the federal government and launched invasions into Latin American countries.

Only by providing a more nuanced version of history in our textbooks (including the bad as well as the good), can our children be taught to think critically about the past to better inform the future.

This is the chance to read about a woman on the side of Cromwell and Parliament during the English civil wars. It imagines the life of Oliver Cromwell’s youngest daughter, Frances, later Lady Rich and Lady Russell (1638–1720). It describes the reign of Cromwell, life in the court of the protector, and the end of the commonwealth following her father’s death. The story is told by Frances herself and features a twist about the real fate of Cromwell’s corpse at the end.

The Seeker takes us through the streets of Cromwellian London in the 1650s, a period rarely considered by historical crime novelists, but one of paranoia as Cromwell’s regime struggles to crush the enemies seeking to overthrow it. The novel introduces the character of Captain Damian Seeker, Cromwell’s mysterious agent who is a force to be reckoned with.

Yes, I know this is a novel, but Mantel’s historical research is impeccable and no one has done more to bring to light the shadowy, intrigue-filled court of Henry VIII. Mantel explores the intersection of political power and personal ambition as she traces the career of Thomas Cromwell, a rags-to-riches courtier.

I could almost taste the food, smell the decay, and touch the damp walls of the buildings. She took me deep into the consciousness of the unlikeable yet sympathetic and lonely main character, as he serves his monarch and defeats his enemies.

The drama is gripping.

Britain’s experiment with republicanism lasted only eleven years (1649-60). Keay explores it through the eyes of a dozen very different characters, from Oliver Cromwell to a cynical journalist, a countess, a country squire, a low-born visionary, and so on.

In each case she gives us a sympathetic insight into the person’s mindset and life, set against the backcloth of public events across England, Scotland, and Ireland.  I have been studying this period for decades and would recommend this book as the ideal introduction for anyone new to it. And there are lots of pictures to add to the page-turning narratives.

For those who like biographies, this story of Oliver Cromwell (1599 – 1658) follows him from young man to gentleman farmer, reluctant politician, military leader, regicide, and Lord Protector of England. To me, Cromwell will always be the cold destroyer who led his most brutal and devastating army across Ireland after England’s civil war. But, there are many differing opinions. This interesting read presents all sides of the man, so you can be the judge. 

Set in the aftermath of the English Civil War; this is the fourth in Andrew Taylor’s bestselling series involving a government agent named James Marwood and his friend, Cat Lovett, who happens to be Oliver Cromwell’s daughter. In The Last Protector 1668 and Marwood and Lovett are on the trail of a mystery that goes back to the days of the republic, one quite literally hidden away in the bowels of the past, but also one which involves a very credible danger to both them individually and society at large. It’s gripping and immersive, and offers delicious personal and political jeopardy right up to the end.

I love Hilary Mantel’s trilogy about the Tudor Age, this book being the third. I love the way she sheds light on the Tudor Age by focusing on one person, Thomas Cromwell. This third novel draws his story to a tragic conclusion in prose that I found exquisite.

In my opinion, Hilary Mantel’s trilogy is the finest fiction of our times. As a lover of both fine writing and Tudor history, I found this third book, like the previous two, impossible to put down. It not only tells a compelling story; it also sets the gold standard for anyone who wants to produce fine writing in the future.

Her recent death is a terrible loss to the literary world.