Oliver Cromwell, an English soldier and statesman of outstanding gifts and a forceful character shaped by a devout Calvinist faith, was lord protector of the republican Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1653 to 1658. One of the leading generals on the parliamentary side in the English Civil War against King Charles I, he was instrumental in bringing about the overthrow of the Stuart monarchy, and, as lord protector, he raised his country's status once more to that of a leading European power from the decline it had gone through since the death of Queen Elizabeth I. Cromwell was one of the most remarkable rulers in European history. He believed deeply in the value of religious toleration. At the same time his victories at home and abroad helped to enlarge and sustain a Puritan attitude of mind, both in Great Britain and North America, that continued to influence political and social life until recent times.
In this fictionalized biography, the whole story of Cromwell's dealings with Parliament and the King is played out. It is written with dignity and conviction, and with the author's characteristic power of grasping the essential details needed to supply color and atmosphere for the reader of the standard histories.
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