Author Description

"Royal Survivor is a new life of Charles II, one of Britain's most glamorous kings. In a sweeping narrative that takes the reader from palaces and battlefields through exile, bitterness, triumph and deceit, biographer Stephen Coote strips away the varnish of sentiment that for so long has clouded the image of the 'merry monarch'. He reveals Charles as an altogether more fascinating, brave and dangerous man - a gambler, a fixer, a survivor." "Born into opulent court of the early Stuarts, the boy Charles had wealth and security taken from him as he was plunged into the agonies of the Civil War, after which he was taught the hard lessons of exile. Charles, determined to regain the throne that was rightfully his, led a Scots army into England but was defeated at the Battle of Worcester. Then followed his thrilling escape: the King of England, disguised as an ordinary man, was fleeing for his life. The years of poverty and homelessness that ensued schooled Charles in the ways of the world, and when a chain of unforeseen events restored him to the throne in 1660, he had learned to become a tough and cynical survivor." "Stephen Coote depicts the twists and turns of Restoration public life, and weaves these together with the major events of the day including the Plague and the Fire of London. We also are take behind the scenes of Charles's private life."--BOOK JACKET.