Frances Cromwell

Frances Cromwell was born in 1638, the youngest daughter of Oliver Cromwell and Elizabeth Bourchier. Her adolescence coincided with her father’s rise from Parliamentarian commander to Lord Protector, bringing the family into the palaces and ceremonial life of the Protectorate. In 1657 she married Robert Rich, who died the following year; she later married Sir John Russell.

Frances lived through Oliver Cromwell’s death, the brief rule of her brother Richard and the Restoration of Charles II. Miranda Malins places her at the centre of The Puritan Princess, using the surviving outline of her life to explore family, courtship and dynastic politics. The principal relationships and political events are historical, while conversations, emotions and undocumented scenes are fictional reconstruction.