For all the countless studies that have been published about him, Oliver Cromwell remains a deeply puzzling and controversial figure. Many historical problems connected with his political career still await satisfactory explanation. In this book, an important addition to a series of growing impact, Barry Coward suggests answers to a number of these problems, using the wealth of fresh interpretations of seventeenth-century British history that have appeared in recent years. Taking a clear chronological approach, Barry Coward confronts head-on the intriguing puzzle of why and how the Cromwell of 1640, an obscure middle-aged man lacking in military and political experience, rapidly acquired the reputation of a soldier of genius, and could, within thirteen years, rise to become ruler of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.^ Dr Coward is particularly interested in the apparent contradictions of Cromwell's character and career: what was it that caused him to act at times with such agonising indecisiveness, and on other occasions to take such awesome risks, apparently in complete disregard of his own political future and personal safety? Cromwell's motives and actions have been clouded since his own day by much that has been written about him - some of it bitterly hostile, some of it excessively adulatory. Barry Coward attempts to by-pass such distorting comments by analysing Cromwell's words and actions in their proper historical context. The result is to reveal a consistent thread running through a career that so often seems to be inconsistent or contradictory.^ Cromwell's political and religious aims - what he called 'the godly reformation' - were ones he developed during and immediately after the Civil War, in debates on military campaigns with fellow soldiers and with political allies at Westminster; and, as Dr Coward shows, these remained the bedrock of his ambitions until the very end of his life. This is a book of real distinction, belying its comparatively modest dimensions. Students will welcome its clarity and concision, scholars its authority and originality; while general readers, interested in one of the most overpowering yet elusive characters in British history, will respond to the broad chronological narrative through which Barry Coward weaves his analysis.