Boyhood; the exiled Prince of Wales; a king in search of a realm, 1649-1650; the King of Scots, 1650-1651; a king in search of quarters, 1651-1656; the pensioner of Spain, 1656-1660; the year of restoration, 1660-1661; the flight for the settlements, 1661-1664; Charles's first Dutch War, 1664-1667; the ministry of Arlington, 1668-1672; Charles's second Dutch War, 1672-1674; the end of King Louis' War, 1674-1678; collapse of a system, 1678-1679; the quest for men and measures, 1679-1681; towards a new way of ruling, 1681-1685; conclusion - monarch in a masquerade.
About the Author:
Ronald Hutton is Reader in History at the
University of Bristol, England, and is the author of The
Restoration.
'This is a splendid book. If only more historians wrote as
vigorously, vividly and imaginatively as Ronald Hutton, specialised
history might recover some of its appeal to a wider public.
Hutton's skilful use of well-selected illustrative detail shows a
complete mastery of the sources...He is disarmingly unengaged in
current academic-ideological squabbles. His conclusions are
tentative, undogmatic, open-minded, but clearly stated. A special
virtue is the
attention which his book pays to Scotland and Ireland...Dr Hutton
finds new angles, neglected pieces of evidence...It is nice to
think that so enjoyable a book will become the standard authority
on its
subject.' Christopher Hill, Guardian
'This is a book packed with information and insight, biography of
high order because grounded in the most thorough-going and
wide-ranging analysis of the reign ... it is merriment, vitality
and superb historical writing, which inform the whole of Dr
Hutton's book.'
Jenny Wormald, Glasgow Herald
'a judicious, deeply researched book, to the balance of which his
sub-title is an important clue'
Antonia Fraser, Sunday Times
'Dr Hutton's scholarship is of the highest order ... Dr Hutton is
to be congratulated on producing a book of lasting interest and
importance.'
R. C. Latham, The Tablet
'This is a book of outstanding quality ... both scholarly and
readable'
Christian Hesketh, Scotsman
'Hutton has produced a carefully balanced and detailed examination
of Charles II and his reign. It is a major addition to our
understanding of the monarch and his turbulent times.'
Jeffrey L. Schweer, S. F. Chronicle
'a thorough, scholarly, composite portrait'
L. Elisabeth Beattie, The New York Times Book Review
'Charles Stuart's life makes for fascinating reading, and Hutton
does the story to a luminescent turn.'
Brad Hooper, Booklist
'well-written study of an important and fascinating figure'
Library Journal
'the first scholarly biography of Charles II ... Any college or
public library will want to buy this well-written study of an
important and fascinating figure.'
Library Journal
'Hutton has produced an erudite and extensively researched book
that covers not just the king's reign but also his boyhood and
experiences in exile. He shows great sensitivity to the sources ...
There is much of value to be gleaned from this book.'
Tim Harris, Brown University, Journal of Modern History, Volume 64,
Number 4, December 1992
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