17th-century bio biography book britain british british-history british-literature c17 charles-ii church-history civil-war commonwealth cromwell england english-civil-war english-history european-history fiction historical history military non-fiction nonfiction politics protestantism puritanism revolution royalty scotland seventeenth-century stuarts uk united-kingdom

In Cromwell, award-winning biographer Antonia Fraser tells of one of England's most celebrated and controversial figures, often misunderstood and demonized as a puritanical zealot. Oliver Cromwell rose from humble beginnings to spearhead the rebellion against King Charles I, who was beheaded in 1649, and led his soldiers into the last battle against the Royalists and King Charles II at Worcester, ending the civil war in 1651. Fraser shows how England's prestige and prosperity grew under Cromwell, reversing the decline it had suffered since Queen Elizabeth I's death.