An incredibly disappointing read. The English Commonwealth is a fascinating period in history: a government and nation divided between radical religious sects, proto-socialist soldiers, and would-be military dictators who believed that if they could just ban Christmas it would usher in the Second Coming. And yet Providence Lost takes that crazy, unprecedented mix and turns it into a long list of names and dates. He provides no explanation of what these various people and groups actually want, or, when he does, the explanation is given whole chapters after they are introduced. There's no thesis on display, no argument about the Protectorate's ambitions or place in history. Even Oliver Cromwell, the man at its very centre, feels weirdly remote and shadowy. 

I think the biggest problem is the editing, or lack thereof. Lay occasionally proves that, yes, he can actually write a strong sentence, but every time he immediately backtracks and chucks in enough commas to kill a printing press. A typical sentence in this book will go something like: "George Whatshisname, brother of Edward, a hapless figure who had been granted a peerage by that other noble figure Walter, 1st Duke of Whogivesashit-Upon-Avon and comrade of the prosaic Jonathan Dontcare, and who had subsequently gambled it away, sought assurances in the aftermath of the disastrous conflict at Ballsackfield from his army comrades - they of the leveller persuasion - who had so recently condemned him." That's not a line from a book, that's a sleeping pill in written form.

It's a bummer, because there is so much going on in this period. So much of the Protectorate is unique in English history, maybe even in world history. A book that explains clearly who these people are, what they want, and (most importantly) why it matters would be an instant 5 stars for me. Providence Lost, unfortunately, is not that book.