Oliver Cromwell: References & Edit History

Cromwell’s letters and speeches are best read in Thomas Carlyle (ed.), The Letters and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell, ed. by S.C. Lomas, 3 vol. (1904); although the speeches alone are available in even more reliable versions in a paperback edition, Ivan Roots (ed.), Speeches of Oliver Cromwell (1989). The most complete edition—but difficult to use and of doubtful editing—is that of Wilbur Cortez Abbott (ed.), The Writings and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell, 4 vol. (1937–47, reissued 1988).

Books on Cromwell include three by distinguished statesmen—French, American, and British, respectively: François Guizot, Life of Oliver Cromwell, new ed. (1860, reissued 1899; originally published in French, 1854); Theodore Roosevelt, Oliver Cromwell (1900); and John Morley, Oliver Cromwell (1900, reprinted 1923), which includes numerous illustrations. C.H. Firth, Oliver Cromwell and the Rule of the Puritans in England (1900, reissued 1972), is an excellent and fair work. Detailed biographies include Robert S. Paul, The Lord Protector: Religion and Politics in the Life of Oliver Cromwell (1955, reissued 1964); Maurice Ashley, The Greatness of Oliver Cromwell (1957, reissued 1969); and Antonia Fraser, Cromwell (1973, reissued 2004). Barry Coward, Oliver Cromwell (1991, reissued 2001); and Peter Gaunt, Oliver Cromwell (1996), are the best concise introductions. Christopher Hill, God’s Englishman (1970), places Cromwell in perspective from a Marxist point of view, examining conflicting social and economic forces surrounding the revolution. Ivan Roots (ed.), Cromwell: A Profile (1973), is an anthology of essays by specialists, including an essay surveying evaluations of Cromwell from the 17th to the 20th century. Roy Sherwood, The Court of Oliver Cromwell (1977, reissued 1989), is an examination, as the title suggests, of his court. Micheál Ó Siochrú, God’s Executioner: Oliver Cromwell and the Conquest of Ireland (2008), is a well-written, balanced account of Cromwell’s actions in Ireland that draws heavily on Irish sources. Benefiting from the work of a new generation of scholars, Patrick Little (ed.), Oliver Cromwell: New Perspectives (2008), focuses on the material aspects of Cromwell’s life. John Fitzgibbons, Cromwell’s Head (2008), employs the journey of the decapitated Cromwell as a lens through which to study the history of post-Cromwellian English radicalism. John Morrill (ed.), Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution (1990), presents a collection of critical studies.