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.