Author Description

This fourth, and fullest, of Abbott's volumes on Oliver Cromwell covers the last three years of his life, from the autumn of 1655 to his death in September 1658. Throughout this time he ruled as Protector, although he apparently came close to taking the crown during the "kingship crisis" of 1657, when parliament, in replacing the Instrument of Government by the more traditional constitution of the Humble Petition, demonstrated that a conservative reaction was emerging in Cromwell's last years. Abroad, England's war with Spain produced Blake's exploits in the Mediterranean and the capture of Dunkirk for the English by the Anglo-French force. At home the problem of giving stability and constitutional respectablility to Puritan rule remained unresolved, but Cromwell's own stature emerges vividly from this record of his writings and speeches. They provide invaluable insights into the personality of one of the most complex and controversial characters in English history.