Scan barcode
xxstefaniereadsxx's review
informative
slow-paced
4.0
Oliver Cromwell was born in England in 1599. He was college educated, and elected to be a Member of Parliament in 1628. He also served as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1653 to 1658. He was a controversial figure, and even advocated for the execution of King Charles I.
Antonia Fraser is one of my favorite female historians. I have read almost all of her books. After this one, I think I have two unread ones left by her. She always exceeds my expectations with her research and attention to detail. I learned a lot about Cromwell, and I wish I would have gotten around to reading this before vising the museum in Anniston, Alabama that had a couple of his items on display. This was a good book, and one that I will be using for reference in my next European History class.
Antonia Fraser is one of my favorite female historians. I have read almost all of her books. After this one, I think I have two unread ones left by her. She always exceeds my expectations with her research and attention to detail. I learned a lot about Cromwell, and I wish I would have gotten around to reading this before vising the museum in Anniston, Alabama that had a couple of his items on display. This was a good book, and one that I will be using for reference in my next European History class.
cemoses's review
2.0
Very difficult book to read if you don't know much of English history of the period.
brnycx's review against another edition
2.0
I had to give up on this one. It's a huge book filled with really dense type, minute details, and convoluted sentences with lots of clauses. I was trying to chip away at this for the past three months but I didn't find it enjoyable to read. It's a real shame because Fraser clearly knows her stuff and I'm really interested in Cromwell - we're hardly taught about him at school for obvious reasons - but I couldn't solider on with it. Think I'll have to go read the Wikipedia page instead.
persey's review against another edition
2.0
Whew, what a slog. A mountain of facts largely lacking synthesis and analysis. It needed to be cut by a third; as it was, it was difficult to see the forest for the trees. The problems were compounded by Fraser's weird fangirlish sensibility, where Old Noll was a brilliant soldier and administrator and a kindly fellow to boot, apparently. (Well, except in regard to those pesky Irish, where his attitude tended more toward the genocidal end of the spectrum. Even Fraser couldn't put much of a gloss on that.)
For all that, a lot of information and I've retained a sufficiency, so mission accomplished, I suppose. But if I had to do it again, I'd pick a different biography.
For all that, a lot of information and I've retained a sufficiency, so mission accomplished, I suppose. But if I had to do it again, I'd pick a different biography.
ebeyrent's review against another edition
4.0
This was a really tough book to get through. I love history, and knew nothing about the time period of the Protectorate, and was excited to dig in.
I was immediately thrown by the author's prose, which was extremely verbose and overly academic. This is not a book for general consumption; it is clearly written for other academics. I found myself re-reading passages over and over just to keep clear what was happening.
Battle descriptions were not nearly as complex, and were the best parts of the book. The author's narrative regarding the battles of Naseby and Worcester were superb, and I flew through those sections. The parliamentary squabbles, power plays, and political dynamics were very dry and heavily analyzed.
If you're a scholar of English history, or of history in general, I recommend this book. If you're an armchair historian like myself, you may want to find something a bit more digestible.
I was immediately thrown by the author's prose, which was extremely verbose and overly academic. This is not a book for general consumption; it is clearly written for other academics. I found myself re-reading passages over and over just to keep clear what was happening.
Battle descriptions were not nearly as complex, and were the best parts of the book. The author's narrative regarding the battles of Naseby and Worcester were superb, and I flew through those sections. The parliamentary squabbles, power plays, and political dynamics were very dry and heavily analyzed.
If you're a scholar of English history, or of history in general, I recommend this book. If you're an armchair historian like myself, you may want to find something a bit more digestible.
More...