Margaret Toynbee

King Charles I is the son of James I of England, grandson of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. He is born in 1600 and crowned king after the death of his father in 1625. Charles is committed to the Church of England, and comes into conflict with a growing, hostile group of reformed Protestants, particularly the Presbyterians, who are unhappy with what they view as excesses by both the Church of England and the monarchy. Charles is unwilling to compromise with this group, and also comes into conflict with Parliament, until the United Kingdom is thrown into civil war. Charles is unable to muster enough support among the royalists and falls into the hands of his enemy, causing his trial and beheading in 1649. This event sets in motion a fascinating period in English history, full of civil war, Cromwell, the return of the monarchy, and the bloodless revolution.

Quote: "His 'I go from a corruptible crown to an incorruptible crown' is clearly an echo of St. Paul's phrase in the Septuagesima Epistle to which Charles had listened on the Sunday during his trial"

This book was so unbelievable boring! Charles led an interesting life, and I find this period in English history fascinating, but this was a very poor representation of it. The author is clearly sympathetic to Charles, which is fine, but the book is more just a relation of separation events than the story of his life or government, with all the fabrics woven together. It's only benefit was that it was mercifully short and had some pictures (although these were just randomly interspersed, and added little to the book itself). Oh well, I am now inspired to find something better about the ill-fated Charles and his children.… (más)