Within a century, the Cromwell family produced two of the most powerful, impactful and controversial commoners in British history.
Thomas served the Tudors, helping to forge Henry VIII’s autocratic state and the Church of England; Oliver led a revolution that executed a king, abolished the monarchy and established a republic, before founding a ruling dynasty.
Each rose from obscurity to the very centre of power. From a Putney brewhouse to the throne and back again, their rise was improbable, their fall dramatic. Both changed Britain forever.
Their family members shaped them – the ambitious wives and mothers, the loyal siblings, the scheming allies and the forgotten children whose stories illuminate everything we thought we knew about Thomas and Oliver, and about early modern Britain itself.
Family mattered above all else to the Cromwells. To understand them, we must understand that family.
The House of Cromwell by Miranda Malins is published on 24 September, 2026.
Read Mirada’s Historia feature about the links between the two famous Cromwells.
Take a look at Historia’s list of over 200 books coming out in 2026 to explore more of this year’s new historical writing.
