Turncoat

Roundhead to Royalist, the Double Life of Cromwell’s Spy

Dennis Sewell

$55

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Atlantic Books
01 December 2025

Biography: historical, political & military; History; General & world history; European history; History of the Americas; Early modern history: c 1450 to c 1700

Judged by contemporaries to be a 'perfidious rogue', Sir George Downing rose to prominence during the English Civil War as Oliver Cromwell's chief of military intelligence. In the Interregnum he proved himself a double-dealer who bribed and blackmailed his way to diplomatic success across Europe (pioneering the practice of judicial kidnapping and starting two major wars in the process), before spectacularly betraying his friends to horrifically violent deaths by defecting to Charles II's court.

Always at the centre of events, Downing engaged with the most illustrious men and women of his times: Samuel Pepys was his clerk; John Milton prepared his letters and dispatches; William of Orange was godfather to his son; his next-door neighbour was Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia; and when Downing finally built his street, his surveyor was Sir Christopher Wren.

Turncoat tells George Downing's story for the very first time, following him from the asceticism of Puritan New England, across English battlefields, through courts, chancelleries and parliaments, to the heart of wealth and power in Restoration London.

By: Dennis Sewell
Imprint: Atlantic Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: Main
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9781786498250
ISBN 10: 1786498251
Pages: 384
Publication Date: 01 December 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

1: An Unsentimental Education 2: Army versus Parliament 3: The Breda Mission 4: Mr Downing Goes to War 5: The Dunbar Fight 6: Capturing the Castle and Ending the War 7: Rump to Barebone's 8: A Marriage and a Settlement 9: A Diplomat Abroad 10: Politician and Envoy 11: Rendition 12: Rise and Fall 13: Si monumentum requiris . . . circumspice

Dennis Sewell is a writer, broadcaster and a contributing editor of the Spectator. He spent twenty-two years on the staff of BBC News, where he worked as a reporter for Newsnight. His previous books include Catholics and The Political Gene.

Reviews for Turncoat: Roundhead to Royalist, the Double Life of Cromwell’s Spy

Sewell scores well in his command of history, better in his turn of phrase, and best of all in his delightful vignettes. -- Richly entertaining... Excellent. -- A.N. Wilson ― Literary Review on CATHOLICS