Killers of the King: The Men Who Dared to Execute Charles I
Bloomsbury Press, January 2015
January, 1649.
The English Civil War Draws to a Close.
After seven years of fighting in the bloodiest war in Britain's history, Parliament had overpowered King Charles I and now faced a problem: what to do with a defeated king, a king who refused to surrender?
Parliamentarians resolved to do the unthinkable, to disregard the Divine Right of Kings and hold Charles I to account for the appalling suffering and slaughter endured by his people. A tribunal of 135 men was hastily gathered in London, and although Charles refused to acknowledge the power of his subjects to try him, the death sentence was unanimously passed. On an icy winter's day, on a scaffold outside Whitehall, in an event unique in English history, the King of England was executed.
When the dead king's son, Charles II, was restored to the throne, he set about enacting a deadly wave of retribution against all those -- the lawyers, the judges, the officers on the scaffold -- responsible for his father's death. Some of the "regicides" -- the killers of the king -- pleaded for mercy, while others stoically awaited their sentence. Many went into hiding in England, or fled to Europe or America. Those who were caught and condemned suffered agonizing and degrading ends while others saw out their days in hellish captivity.
Charles Spencer explores this violent clash of ideals through the individuals whose fates were determined by that one momentous decision, examining as well the far-reaching consequences for England. A powerful tale of revenge from the dark heart of royal British history and a fascinating insight into the dangers of political and religious allegiance in the seventeenth century, these are the shocking stories of the men who dared to kill a king.
hardcover | ISBN: 9781620409121 | Publication Date: January 2015
Reviews:
"This is one of history's great manhunt stories, expertly, briskly
told. Spencer is a graceful and particularly evenhanded writer"
-- The Dallas Morning News
"Engaging, action-packed history"
-- People Magazine
"A sometimes grisly nonfiction thriller"
-- Vanity Fair
"The author is a practiced writer with an eye for striking
details"
-- Wall Street Journal
"A clever and illuminating book. Very good . . . Dense and
well-researched . . . Spine-tingling detail"
-- The Times (UK)
"[A] brilliant book"
-- The Independent (UK)
"History with the pace of a thriller and I learned much I never
knew"
-- Julian Fellowes
"Splendidly narrated but utterly gruesome . . . Gripping from
first to last."
-- Mail on Sunday (UK)
"Beautifully written and meticulously researched."
-- The London Evening Standard (UK)
"Spencer's excellent popular history will appeal to fans of
Alison Weir and those interested in British history"
-- Library Journal
"Killers of the King is immensely readable . . . an elegantly
written history"
-- Maclean
"While many readers already know the story's end, Spencer
purposefully builds anticipation over which men suffer
excruciating death and which ones literally get away with murder"
-- Publishers Weekly
"Perfectly balanced . . . One of the best books on the 17th
century I have read since CV Wedgwood's book, The Trial of
Charles."
-- Evening Standard Books of the Year (UK)
"Spencer is a snappy story-teller . . . he shows an eye for the
details, gory or intimate."
-- The Guardian (UK)
"Spencer tells the stories of [the regicides] with great verve
and skill . . . It is gripping material and Spencer more than does
it justice."
-- The Literary Review (UK)
"Spencer paints a sympathetic portrait of these men, most of
whom believed they acted in the interests of their country"
-- Booklist
"A gripping account of the aftermath of Britain's revolution,
during which both sides fought for justice and Christianity and
behaved despicably"
-- Kirkus (starred review)
" A well-researched and beautifully written story of intrigue,
betrayal and Realpolitik."
-- Andrew Roberts, author of Napoleon: A Life
and Napolean and Wellington
"This masterful account of the fate of the regicides breaks all
barriers in weaving the lives -- and the grim fates -- of many
into a seamless, pacy and riveting read, underpinned by the depth
of scholarship for which Charles Spencer is renowned. An
exceptional and highly original history book that sheds new light
on one of England's bloodiest episodes."
-- Alison Weir, author of Elizabeth of York: A
Tudor Queen and Her World
"Imagine The Odessa File reshaped to the contours of the
seventeenth century, and you will have some idea of the pleasure
to be had in reading Killers Of The King. The virtues of a
thriller and of scholarship are potently combined."
-- Tom Holland, author of Rubicon: The Last
Years of the Roman Republic
"Outstanding: a thrilling tale of retribution and bloody
sacrifice, unflinching idealism and craven miscreancy. In fluent,
measured, often witty prose, Killers of the King
brilliantly evokes that febrile time when the hunters became the
hunted and vengeance was avenged. Like all the best history books,
it succeeds not only in telling a remarkable story, but also in
illuminating the entire age."
-- Jessie Childs, author of God's Traitors:
Terror and Faith in Elizabethan England
