The Fall

Henry Reece

ISBN 10: 030021149X / ISBN 13: 9780300211498

Published by Yale University Press, US, 2024

About this Item

Why did England's one experiment in republican rule fail?   Oliver Cromwell's death in 1658 sparked a period of unrivalled turmoil and confusion in English history. In less than two years, there were close to ten changes of government; rival armies of Englishmen faced each other across the Scottish border; and the Long Parliament was finally dissolved after two decades. Why was this period so turbulent, and why did the republic, backed by a formidable standing army, come crashing down in such spectacular fashion?   In this fascinating history, Henry Reece explores the full story of the English republic's downfall. Questioning the accepted version of events, Reece argues that the restoration of the monarchy was far from inevitable-and that the republican regime could have survived long term. Richard Cromwell's Protectorate had deep roots in the political nation, the Rump Parliament mobilised its supporters impressively, and the country showed little interest in returning to the old order until the republic had collapsed. This is a compelling account that transforms our understanding of England's short-lived period of republican rule.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780300211498

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Fall
• Publisher: Yale University Press, US
• Publication Date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 030021149X
• ISBN 13: 9780300211498
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Why did England’s one experiment in republican rule fail?
 
Oliver Cromwell’s death in 1658 sparked a period of unrivalled turmoil and confusion in English history. In less than two years, there were close to ten changes of government; rival armies of Englishmen faced each other across the Scottish border; and the Long Parliament was finally dissolved after two decades. Why was this period so turbulent, and why did the republic, backed by a formidable standing army, come crashing down in such spectacular fashion?
 
In this fascinating history, Henry Reece explores the full story of the English republic’s downfall. Questioning the accepted version of events, Reece argues that the restoration of the monarchy was far from inevitable—and that the republican regime could have survived long term. Richard Cromwell’s Protectorate had deep roots in the political nation, the Rump Parliament mobilised its supporters impressively, and the country showed little interest in returning to the old order until the republic had collapsed. This is a compelling account that transforms our understanding of England’s short-lived period of republican rule.

About the Author

Henry Reece is emeritus fellow of Jesus College, Oxford, and was previously chief executive of Oxford University Press. He read history at Bristol University and did his D.Phil. at St John’s College, Oxford. He is the author of The Army in Cromwellian England 1649–1660.