Ronald Hutton is Britain's foremost historian of the English
Restoration. His book The Restoration was hailed as "a real tour de
force" by History, a work "to which all historians will have to
refer," and immediately established itself as the definitive
history of the period. Now, in Charles II, Hutton offers a
comprehensive biography of the king who returned to England in
triumph after the death of Cromwell, re-establishing the monarchy
that continues to reign to this day.
Hutton reveals the excitement and tragedy of Charles's youth, as
the realm erupted into savage civil war, leading to the execution
of his father King Charles I at the hands of the rebellious
Parliament. His life turned into a long, desperate struggle to
claim his crown, including a catastrophic invasion of Cromwell's
England that ended in a lonely flight, as he hid in orchards,
ditches, and the famous Boscobel Oak. Yet Charles persevered, and
was finally recalled from exile by an exhausted nation in
1660.
Charles emerges in this narrative as a "monarch in a masquerade,"
a charming, duplicitous, and astonishingly lucky king who spent
less time governing than he did at play (when he wasn't hunting,
racing, or sailing he was with one of a series of mistresses,
producing seventeen acknowledged bastards). Hutton vividly depicts
him as a colorful and often underhanded ruler, physically brave in
battle, but a moral coward in religion--first he promised to become
a Presbyterian for Scottish aid, then later offered to convert to
Catholicism for French help, eventually alienating everyone. His
reign endured catastrophe and unrest, from the plague and the Great
Fire of London, to defeat at the hands of the Dutch, to Protestant
hysteria about a Catholic plot to seize the throne, to the
disastrous results of his own secret diplomacy. But Charles in his
good fortune survived all of it, beautifully rebuilding London
after the fire and firmly anchoring a monarchy whose future had
once been bleak.
Chosen as a main selection of the History Book Club, Charles II
presents an unmatched account of the private life and dramatic
public career of this fascinating king. This lively and
comprehensive biography, written by a major historian of the
Restoration period, captures the politics and personalities of a
mometentous era.
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