Charles I: A Political Life - Softcover

Cust, Richard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1405859032 ISBN 13: 9781405859035

Publisher: Routledge, 2007

Synopsis

Charles I has often been portrayed as unfit to rule, with historians blaming him for the events surrounding the Civil War. This biography of Charles I addresses their judgments of the king - that he was an uncounselled ruler, insufficiently popular, and more effective as a party leader than as a monarch.

About this title

Review:

'Richard Cust's new biography (is) by far the best to date... This is an outstanding piece of work: not only the best life of the king yet produced, but also the most subtle and balanced synthesis of current research on the politics and religion of the reign currently in print.'
John Adamson, BBC History

'Cust comes as close to producing a definitive account of the nature of Charles I's kingship as anyone is likely to do for a long time... We should be grateful....for this brilliantly conceived and deeply pondered work. It becomes a crucial point of reference, always trustworthy and enlightening.'
Anthony Fletcher, History Today, May 2006

'...the most impressive aspect of the book is the way that interwoven in the narrative is a consistent, novel and coherent view of Charles the politician. What is novel about Dr. Cust’s view is that he is not content to put Charles’s political failures down simply, as many recent historians have done, to the king’s lack of political ability. His explanations are more subtle and, thus, more convincing.'
Professor Barry Coward, Birkbeck College, London; author of The Stuart Age: England1603-1714 (Longman, 2003)

Book Description:

This perspective on the troubled relationship between Charles I and the English aristocracy explores the effectiveness of Charles' efforts to cultivate and strengthen the peerage. It analyses how and why most peers supported the King at the outbreak of civil war, challenging notions of aristocratic decline and 'noble revolt'.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1405859032
• ISBN 13: 9781405859035
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 512