In 1647, the Parliamentarians were divided. They had won the first civil war and the king was in custody, but disagreements over the way forward had led to a stalemate. As the leader of one party, Oliver Cromwell found himself again at the centre of events.

In the second volume of his pioneering biography, Ronald Hutton traces Cromwell's career from 1647 through to his seizure of supreme power. These decisive years saw the execution of Charles I and the establishment of the Commonwealth of England, as well as notorious and savage campaigns in Ireland and Scotland. Cromwell's political and military leadership were well honed after years of practice, but this was also the period of his greatest ruthlessness and brutality.

This groundbreaking account reveals a different kind of Cromwell, showing how he navigated the many forces ranged against him--and rose to the pinnacle of his power.