The Embalmed Head of Oliver Cromwell: A Memoir
(Curious Publications)
Oliver Cromwell led the charge in the beheading of England's King Charles I in 1649. But little did he know that his own head would soon roll. And roll and roll—for the next three hundred years across the Commonwealth. Cover art by Vi Luong.
The execution of Charles I ended the monarchy, and Cromwell became the Lord Protector of England until his own death from natural causes in 1658. His body was embalmed and buried in Westminster Abbey, only to be exhumed by King Charles II three years later. The new king had restored the monarchy and wished to avenge his father's death by hanging Cromwell and beheading him posthumously. Now, for the first time, the memoirs of Oliver Cromwell's embalmed head have surfaced, making it the first account of any world leader-or any human being for that matter-chronicling the afterlife. This remarkable memoir recounts its journey through the centuries.
What People Are Saying
"The Embalmed Head of Oliver Cromwell is an exceptionally well-researched and thoughtful look at an influential figure in history and how he might’ve reacted to the many events that followed his rise and fall. The idea that Cromwell’s spirit continued to observe the world through the eyes of his severed head is a fascinating one, and it provided a storytelling perspective quite unlike anything I’d read before. ...
[It] is historical fiction done with grace, style, and ingenuity. (I haven’t even mentioned the absolutely stunning cover.) What an unexpected treat."
— San Francisco Book Review
"Compulsively readable and genuinely fascinating, this is history from a perspective you've never encountered before--and may never again. A surprising delight for the morbidly curious."
— Bess Lovejoy
author of Rest in Pieces: The Curious Fates of Famous Corpses
"As Cromwell is an inanimate head, he has no agency and can only witness and comment, making the entire work an endeavor in supposing what the historical personage might have thought of later events. ... This book will offer food for thought to those looking for an imaginative take on the historical figure."
— Publishers Weekly
"Brilliant! Is this horror, cult fiction, science fiction, or a half-true travelogue through time as told by a dismembered head? Whatever you call it, the story is one of the most original pieces of writing this decade. One wonders about the state of Hartzman's own head as he comes up with one story after another, all told from the recesses of a skull while in the afterlife. You will cringe one minute and laugh the next as you find his head in familiar predicaments."
— Tim O’Brien
Ambassador of Odd for Ripley's Believe It or Not!
“Hey, Oliver Cromwell!”
The Embalmed Head of Oliver Cromwell: A Memoir might very well be the only book about a world leader’s embalmed head with a theme song. Written and performed by Stephie Coplan.
