What is the best biography of Oliver Cromwell?

Whereas most of the biographies are written for students, this is the one that anyone can access, and if they've got the stomach for a long book, then it's a very good, leisurely read which has a lot of fascinating detail in it. read more

John Buchan is good. Viscount Morley also good. C. V. Wedgwood excellent. To my mind, the best books about Cromwell are the four volumes of Letters and Speeches. By Thomas Carlyle. read more

The early one is "Cromwell (1970)" starring Richard Harris as Cromwell. The later one is "To Kill a King (2003)" starring Tim Roth as Cromwell. Personally I prefer the first film as it is more realistic and objective. read more

The best account of the portraiture of Cromwell is D. Piper, The Contemporary Portraits of Oliver Cromwell (1958), recently updated by J. Cooper, Oliver the First: Contemporary Images of Oliver Cromwell (1999). read more