Commonwealth to Protectorate

The English republic collapsed, and in its place came the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell, a system that looked much more like a monarchy in practice. Austin Woolrych, a professor and historian, traces this shift across one central episode, arguing that a close look at a single period can show how it shaped the politics that followed.

At the heart of the book is a question: why did the idea of a republic, governed by representatives chosen by the people, fail to take root in England? Woolrych examines the forces that pushed the Commonwealth towards its end and the circumstances that favoured a return to personal rule.