CROMWELL ANECDOTES: ILLUSTRATING THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF OLIVER CROMWELL by DR. MACAULAY

CROMWELL ANECDOTES:

ILLUSTRATING THE LIFE AND CHARACTER

OF

OLIVER CROMWELL,

LORD PROTECTOR OF THE COMMONWEALTH

BY DR. MACAULAY

THE BLURB:-

There was none...

THE REALITY:-

...But there was a personal message from my mother to my uncle stuck on a post-it note on the inside. It would appear that this book once belonged to my father... then he died and my mother took it on holiday to America with her, to pass on as a gift to my uncle, who'd spent over half his life there... then he died (he shot himself- please don't ask; my family has always been complicated) and my cousin brought it back over the water to give to me, whilst she was visiting London on business.

I was sitting finishing the final chapters when a guy struck up conversation with me and asked if I was reading a first edition. Well it is, and I checked its value; but I'm not sure it's worth more than a tenner (which I thought might be the case).  Oh well, I'll do a little more research then will either sell it to a bookshop who deals in these things or pass it on to charity.

Is this a particular period of history that I'm interested in? Not really, but it's also a time I knew very little about (I own a large book devoted to the Kings and Queens of England but, of course, it omits this period). So, under the banner of learning, I gave it a read (although that's probably more for sentimental reasons- this book was once the property of my father, after all.) I found it very informative and suitable for any student of The Interregnum, although a tad biased- maybe even sometimes very biased- in favour of Cromwell.

I'm a royalist. Whilst I'm not in love with every member of the royal family, if it ain't broke then don't fix it!  Also, what is the alternative? President Theresa May, and whomever her successors may be? Get the HELL out of here! The royals have reigned almost constantly for nearly a thousand years and our current Queen, despite having made mistakes along the way, does get off her backside and does do the job properly. Prince Charles will make a sensitive and good King and, let's be honest, he's had enough practice in doing his apprenticeship for the top job. If there is going to be any weak link then I think that will be Prince William, who comes across as lazy and selfish, and whom I think would probably have been better suited in the role of second son. I see shades of Edward VIII in him and am always shocked when the media calls for Charles to stand down and let William be the next monarch. Having said all that, my favourite royal ever was Diana, and she was someone who was not born into the establishment. She dragged the family out of their 19th century ways and turned them into the institution of modern royalty we see today. Plus, she gave the family some much-needed glamour. Whilst Kate and Meghan are very attractive (I quite like quirky underdogs, Beatrice and Eugenie, too) no-one comes anywhere near to projecting the same star quality that Diana did.

Enough of my opinions- this book is an informative enough read if you're interested. I learnt some new words from this factual book, which I'm always happy to do, but I doubt very much that the Scots like to be referred to as Scotch, which is, after all, a drink! I did speed read parts and was glad I'd flattened it and could move on.