Henry Reece read History at Bristol University and did his D.Phil. at St John's College, Oxford. He spent thirty years in publishing, latterly as chief executive of Oxford University Press from 1998 to 2009. Oxford University awarded him an Honorary D.Litt. in 2010. He is an Emeritus Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford and an Honorary Fellow of St John's College, Oxford. He now lives on Vancouver Island in Canada.

Winner of the Samual Pepys Award Trust Prize
Shortlisted for the Longman History Today Book Prize 2014

"This is an intriguing study of a crucial institution at a critical time in English history. It is a complex story of army purges, dissolution of parliaments, conflicting personalities, religious and social friction, and a country yearning for a lasting settlement, and Reece does an excellent job in describing it."--Milton Quarterly

"This fine and compelling study...makes a thoughtful, well-researched and strongly argued contribution to our understanding of the role and position of the army in England."--English Historical Review

"With thoughtful analysis on issues such as quartering and paying the army, as well as a new interpretation of the army's demise in 1659-60, Reece's book will appeal not only to military historians, but those wishing to understand both how the standing army affected life in the localities in the 1650s and why the English Commonwealth collapsed in 1660."--Canadian Journal of History

"The Army in Cromwellian England, 1649-1660 is an elegant synthesis of forty years' worth of historiography, securely anchored in primary sources. Reece's conclusions lead us to reconsider long-held orthodoxies, such as the beliefs that an 'un-English' autocracy characterized the Commonwealth and Protectorate, and that the return of the Stuarts was inevitable."--Mark Charles Fissel, American Historical Review

"Reece gives a detailed examination of the New Model Army: its fluctuating size and cost; the role of some officers in local government and, by extension, the brief rule of the major-generals; the tensions between some garrisons and local communities regarding religion; relations between the army and Westminster; and Cromwell's skill in dealing with a diverse group of senior officers. Recommended."--CHOICE

"'This book has marinaded for longer than most,' Henry Reece remarks. His book is the best possible advertisement for marinading. It is a fine scholarly achievement, required reading for all who take England's republican experiment seriously. Reece's excellent book certainly makes us think hard; on the army itself it is surely definitive."--Anthony Fletcher, History

"The Army in Cromwellian England provides a detailed analysis, based on first-rate archival work, of the 'military presence' in England after the battle of Worcester ended the Civil Wars in 1651."--Dan Beaver, Journal of Modern History