Oliver Cromwell: Commander in Chief

by Ronald Hutton
Oliver Cromwell: Commander in Chief cover
Good Books rating 4.53
Biography and Memoir
Technical:
  • ID: 292
  • Added: 2025-09-07
  • Updated: 2025-09-18
  • ISBN: 9780300280425
  • Publisher: Yale University Press
  • Published: 2024-10-29
  • Formats: 24
  • Reviews: 3
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Paperback • £10.99 Hardback • £25.00

Ronald Hutton’s pioneering biography traces Oliver Cromwell’s career from 1647, when Parliament was divided after the first civil war and King Charles I was in custody, through to Cromwell’s seizure of supreme power. These years encompass the execution of Charles I, the establishment of the Commonwealth of England, and Cromwell’s notorious military campaigns in Ireland and Scotland. Hutton presents a complex portrait of Cromwell as a skilled political and military leader whose ruthlessness and brutality were at their height during this period. Hutton challenges traditional Victorian myths by revealing Cromwell as a devious political operator with a streak of cruelty, rather than a purely godly figure. The biography highlights Cromwell’s deft public relations, his charm, dishonesty, and cleverness, showing how he navigated opposition to become the undisputed master of the British Isles. It offers a three-dimensional and groundbreaking account of one of history’s most controversial figures, emphasizing his military brilliance alongside the harsh realities of his campaigns and governance.

Reviews
Barnes & Noble Reads Blog · 2025-09-07
revealing 4.40

The book reveals a different Cromwell, emphasizing his navigation through political and military challenges and his period of greatest ruthlessness and brutality.

This review emphasizes Ronald Hutton’s groundbreaking approach in depicting Cromwell not just as a military and political leader but as a figure who skillfully maneuvered through numerous challenges to reach the height of his power. The account highlights how Cromwell’s leadership was honed through years of practice, culminating in a period marked by both remarkable strength and severe cruelty, especially during campaigns in Ireland and Scotland. The narrative reshapes Cromwell’s image, showing his complex character against the backdrop of a deeply divided Parliament and the violent upheavals of the time.

Quick quotes

    This groundbreaking account reveals a different kind of Cromwell, showing how he navigated the many forces ranged against him—and rose to the pinnacle of his power.

    Cromwell’s political and military leadership were well honed after years of practice, but this was also the period of his greatest ruthlessness and brutality.

    These decisive years saw the execution of Charles I and the establishment of the Commonwealth of England, as well as notorious and savage campaigns in Ireland and Scotland.

Literary Review · John Adamson · 2024-08-21
insightful 4.50

The biography offers a concise and fast-paced narrative that challenges established orthodoxies about Cromwell, highlighting his military brilliance and reassessing his controversial actions in Ireland.

John Adamson appreciates Ronald Hutton's skillful condensation of a complex and much-debated period into a clear and engaging narrative. He admires Hutton's impartiality in reassessing Cromwell’s military genius while also addressing the harsh realities of his campaigns, including the massacre at Drogheda, separating myth from fact to present a balanced view of Cromwell's ruthlessness without exaggeration. Adamson finds the book a remarkable achievement in both historical detail and readability, offering fresh perspectives on Cromwell’s rise to power amid a turbulent era.

Quick quotes

    Hutton’s narrative is therefore a miracle of concision.

    Hutton is never short of admiration for Cromwell’s brilliance as a general.

    Hutton convicts Cromwell of the mass killing of nearly all the 3,000-strong Royalist force at Drogheda, but exonerates him of murdering the entire civilian population.

Open Letters Review · Aaron Kyereh-Mireku · 2024-08-21
complex 4.70

This biography presents Cromwell as a complex figure combining cleverness, charm, and dishonesty, emphasizing his political maneuvering and brutal military campaigns that shaped his ascent to power.

Aaron Kyereh-Mireku highlights Ronald Hutton’s portrayal of Cromwell as a multifaceted leader whose rise was as much about political savvy and public relations as military success. He notes how Hutton dismantles Victorian myths, showing Cromwell’s mix of ruthlessness and religious zealotry, and how the book provides a vivid picture of Cromwell’s domination over the British Isles after his decisive victories. The reviewer values the three-dimensional portrait that balances Cromwell’s charm and cruelty, making the biography a definitive study that challenges simplistic views.

Quick quotes

    Hutton established that the Cromwell handed down to us from Victorian liberal mythologists was in fact a devious political operative.

    Cromwell’s militarism, evangelism, piety and republicanism can make him look more akin to the current American radical Christian right than to a Victorian British liberal.

    Hutton brings out all his qualities – his cleverness, his dishonesty, his charm – to present the most three-dimensional portrait of Cromwell ever achieved.

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