The King's Revenge
Charles II and the Greatest Manhunt in British History
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- £2.99
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- £2.99
Publisher Description
When Charles I was executed, his son Charles II made it his role to search out retribution, producing the biggest manhunt Britain had ever seen, one that would span Europe and America and would last for thirty years.
Men who had once been among the most powerful figures in England ended up on the scaffold, on the run, or in fear of the assassin's bullet. History has painted the regicides and their supporters as fanatical Puritans, but among them were remarkable men, including John Milton and Oliver Cromwell. Don Jordan and Michael Walsh bring these remarkable figures and this astonishing story vividly to life an engrossing, bloody tale of plots, spies, betrayal, fear and ambition.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Jordan and Walsh follow The King's Bed with a further examination of the Merry Monarch's English court, this time focusing on Charles II's mission to find the parties responsible for the execution of Charles I. Charles II reveled in his court, which teemed with beautiful women and other tempting diversions, but the newly restored king also diligently hunted and brutally punished dozens of men who played roles in executing his father and temporarily banishing the monarchy. The authors see Charles as primarily motivated by pleasure and punishment, with little nuance in between; this gives their book an emphasis on the pre- and post-restoration lives of the regicides rather than the king. They admiringly assert that the regicides' contributions to free health care, legal rights, and political reforms outlasted their failed experiment, which was marred by repressive Puritanism and post-Commonwealth chaos. As in their previous work, Jordan and Walsh showcase their wit throughout a clear disentangling of alliances and betrayals. The book's strength is humanizing this diverse group of hunted men, and Jordan and Walsh give readers good reason to revisit the infamous and implacable revolutionaries who murdered a monarch and later lost everything.
