Boscobel: The Royal Oak

Boscobel gives a vivid, if rather over-romanticised account of episodes in the English Civil War, culminating in the fugitive Charles Stuart's escape after the battle of Worcester. While there is a subplot of the love affair between William Careless and Juliana Coningsby, the descriptions of battles, strategies and escapes outweigh the more romantic elements of the story. Necessarily, the topography of the countryside and the towns involved in the war play a major role, Worcester in particular. Additionally Ainsworth describes the location of numerous skirmishes, and houses visited by Charles in his flight.