Republic is an engaging and thought-provoking biography of a revolutionary decade in British history.

It's not a period of history I knew much about beforehand, but I found the year-by-year narrative clear and easy to follow. I had a strong image of the historical figures involved thanks to Hunt's astute characterisation and analysis, which is founded on a huge amount of research and utilises the protagonists' own words. Capturing the personalities at the centre of the action is crucial to understanding how the seismic changes of the 1650s came to pass.

Despite this sharp focus, Republic still manages to encompass a broad and rich history of the period. Hunt weaves literature, science and religion into the political narrative, showing how the changes in state impacted every aspect of British culture.

Republic is the story of a real turning point in British history, vividly brought to life in all its complexity.

Republic is Alice Hunt's concise but wide-ranging year-by-year account of the rise and fall of the English Republic in the 1950s. As such, it draws cleverly on previous studies of the period and is impressive in its attempts to provide a relatively objective view of key figures such as Cromwell and Charles II, as well as identifying the significance of less known figures, such as Samuel Hartlib, and making a more balanced case for the tolerance (in some respects) of Cromwell's rule. Hunt also has a pithy turn of phrase: "The 1650s enabled opera, tolerated Jews and feared the Quakers" and offers a convincing view that the stability associated with the restoration of the royal family was neither inevitable nor really the case. A more important restoration is Hunt's emphasis on the progressivism of the time - the number of ideas (from a national health service to paper money) that Hartlib and his circle, many of whom went on (ironically) to found the Royal Society, had way ahead of their time is remarkable. On balance,Republic is very good at contesting and unsettling established wisdom. At times, such as in its discussion of Quakerism, it would have interesting to have learned more, but it is understandable that depth has sometimes to be sacrificed in order to get through the huge amount of material she has brought together and to keep things moving like a novel. Impressive.

Republic is a well-researched and meticulously written non-fiction book about Britain’s Integrregnum (1649-1660), the short-lived republic period.
The book has an excellent structure and covers all the years during the republic.
Hunt does not shy away from analysing the strengths and weakness of Britain’s experiment with being a republic - the prose is matter-of-fact, accessible and engaging, and yet, for the readers who are interested the regime under the leadership of Cromwell.
Alice Hunt is a an excellent scholar and takes her subject matter seriously. I am glad to have been introduced to Hunt’s work.
Thank you #netgalley and #faberandfaber for the eARC.