Killers of the King : The Men Who Dared to Execute Charles I - Charles Spencer

Killers of the King

The Men Who Dared to Execute Charles I

By: Charles Spencer

Paperback | 1 October 2015 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback


$42.25

or 4 interest-free payments of $10.56 with

 or 

Aims to ship in 15 to 25 business days

January, 1649. 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 agonising and degrading ends, while others saw out their days in hellish captivity. Bestselling historian Charles Spencer explores this violent clash of ideals through the individuals whose fates were determined by that one, momentous decision. A powerful tale of revenge from the dark heart of royal history and a fascinating insight into the dangers of political and religious allegiance in Stuart England, these are the shocking stories of the men who dared to kill a king.
Industry Reviews
A pacy, well-researched and beautifully written story of intrigue, betrayal and Realpolitik, but above all cold-blooded institutionalized revenge on a massive international scale * Andrew Roberts *
Accomplished and gruesome, 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 *
Imagine The Odessa File re-written by Christopher Hill, 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 *
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 *
Very good ... Dense and well-researched ... Some of the stories are extraordinary ... Spine-tingling detail * The Times *

More in History

Reagan : His Life and Legend - Max Boot

RRP $74.95

$50.40

33%
OFF
The Sunbird - Sara Haddad

Paperback

$19.99

65,000 Years : A Short History of Australian Art - Marcia Langton

RRP $79.99

$53.35

33%
OFF
Black Convicts : How slavery shaped Australia - Santilla Chingaipe
Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

RRP $22.99

$21.35

The Bush - Don Watson

Paperback

RRP $24.99

$23.75

True Girt : Unauthorised History of Australia : Volume 2 - David Hunt
The Catalpa Rescue - Peter FitzSimons

RRP $36.99

$33.25

10%
OFF
Junior Atlas of Indigenous Australia - Macquarie Dictionary

RRP $39.99

$27.80

30%
OFF
The Battle of Long Tan - Peter FitzSimons

RRP $49.99

$38.75

22%
OFF
Unmasking the Killer of the Missing Beaumont Children - Stuart Mullins