The Restless Republic

Britain Without a Crown

Anna Keay

The Restless Republic ranges from London to Leith, Cornwall to Connacht, from the corridors of power to the common fields and hillsides. Gathering her cast of trembling visionaries and banished royalists, dextrous mandarins and bewildered bystanders, Anna Keay brings to vivid life the most extraordinary and experimental decade in Britain’s history. It is the story of how these tempestuous years set the British Isles on a new course, and of what happened when a conservative people tried revolution.

First published:: 2022
Published by:: HarperCollins
Length:: Hardcover 480 pages

See more from the 2022 prize year

What the judges said
"Wonderful characters and great writing bring to life the 11 years of Cromwell’s Commonwealth, through the lives of ordinary people"

Restless Republic book trailer

About the author

Dr Anna Keay OBE read history at Magdalen College, Oxford and has a Ph.D. from Queen Mary, University of London. Formerly Curatorial Director of English Heritage she is now Director of the Landmark Trust. She has published and broadcast widely on British history and buildings, with a particular focus on the 17th century. She is a Trustee of the Royal Collection Trust, a Visiting Professor at Birmingham City University and has an Honorary Doctorate from the University of East Anglia.