The King's Revenge

June 13, 2016
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. Agency: Charlie Viney Agency.

June 1, 2016
A bloody history of treachery and retribution told with zest.Jordan and Walsh (The King's Bed: Ambition and Intimacy in the Court of Charles II, 2016, etc.) follow their examination of Charles II's sexual escapades with a close look at his career after claiming the throne in 1660. Vowing revenge, Charles set out "to chase, pursue, kill and destroy" the 59 men who executed his father. The authors reprise the downfall of Charles I, who ruled tyrannically, incurring the wrath of Parliament, the gentry, and the aristocracy, inciting many to question the legitimacy of the monarchy. Civil wars ensued, resulting in the rise of Oliver Cromwell as "Lord Protector for life." Cromwell's reign--he staged his own coronation--infuriated his enemies. When he died in 1658 from malaria (he "had survived myriad battles, intrigues and assassination plots only to be laid low by an insect"), Charles II saw his chance to return from exile. The authors characterize Charles as a cynical pragmatist who handily quashed his opponents, claimed the property and estates of those he identified as threats, and refused any compromise to his royal power. He was not beloved: among his detractors was John Milton, who bitterly condemned a restored monarchy. Edmund Burke derided Charles as "dissolute, false, venal, and destitute of any positive good quality whatsoever." Still, Burke noted, England yearned for a king, to promote "peace and liberty." As king, Charles displayed traits "developed over long years of exile and futility": predilection for philandering, inattentiveness to governing, and laziness. His court was "wonderfully corrupt and licentious." The authors chronicle the arrest of the regicides and their sensational mass trial, and they focus especially on the lives of 20 fugitives in America and Europe, eluding capture by Charles's henchmen. The authors praise the "odd coalition" of regicides as "men of principle" who ushered in Britain's modern constitutional monarchy. An absorbing narrative that shifts the focus from monarchs to rebels.

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June 1, 2016

In their follow-up to The King's Bed: Ambition and Intimacy in the Court of Charles II, historians and coauthors Jordan and Walsh meticulously chronicle the trial and execution of Charles I of England (1600-49) and the vengeance that his son, Charles II (1630-85) sought as he fought his way back into power. While The King's Bed provided insight into Charles II's obsessions during his reign, readers will gain further understanding of the torments that defined him as a young man as well as a look into the political upheaval that befell 17th-century England. A helpful appendix lists the names and fates of the 59 men labeled regicides after signing Charles I's death warrant. For a thorough investigation of the lives of these regicides, see Charles Spencer's Killers of the King: The Men Who Dared to Execute Charles I. Jordan and Walsh focus primarily on Charles II's story as revenge became his utmost priority. VERDICT Crafted like a spy novel as Charles II set about to find the living regicides, this work will intrigue readers with the breadth and ruthlessness of the king's search. For readers interested in this thrilling period in British history.--Katie McGaha, County of Los Angeles P.L.

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