New Books in Early Modern History

Henry Reece, "The Fall: The Last Days of the English Republic" (Yale UP, 2024)


Listen Later

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 The Fall: The Last Days of the English Republic (Yale UP, 2024), 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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

New Books in Early Modern HistoryBy New Books Network

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

6 ratings


More shows like New Books in Early Modern History

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,412 Listeners

Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,969 Listeners

History Extra podcast by Immediate Media

History Extra podcast

3,193 Listeners

The LRB Podcast by The London Review of Books

The LRB Podcast

293 Listeners

Odd Lots by Bloomberg

Odd Lots

1,789 Listeners

The Ancients by History Hit

The Ancients

3,043 Listeners

The Rest Is History by Goalhanger

The Rest Is History

13,053 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

15,335 Listeners

Gone Medieval by History Hit

Gone Medieval

1,762 Listeners

Not Just the Tudors by History Hit

Not Just the Tudors

1,982 Listeners

Ones and Tooze by Foreign  Policy

Ones and Tooze

346 Listeners

The Rest Is Politics by Goalhanger

The Rest Is Politics

3,288 Listeners

The Foreign Affairs Interview by Foreign Affairs Magazine

The Foreign Affairs Interview

422 Listeners

Empire by Goalhanger

Empire

2,107 Listeners

Past Present Future by David Runciman

Past Present Future

321 Listeners