Royal Survivor: The Life of Charles II

An amazing story of a prince gone into exile after his father's execution by parliament and his wanderings through Europe. Then his restoration to his father's throne as Charles II. He had an amazing sexual appetite, which led to all the illegitimate children, including the doomed, Duke of Monmouth. Charles II seemed to enjoy life, dodged parliament to the end and ultimately died a Catholic, and paved the way to his son, Monmouth's demise; his brother, James II's abdication; and his nephew, William III of Orange ascension to the throne. Great book. The house of Stuart could never be called boring.

Stephen Coote's biography of Charles II, _Royal Survivor_, is a superb story in every respect. It suffers a lack of the kings' portraits, but I suspect this is no fault of Mr. Coote who excels beautifully in bringing a wealth of information to his readers. The biographer's evenhanded approach nicely integrates Charles' personal life with late 17th century politics, economics, science, medicine, social studies and religion. Mr. Coote spends a number of pages discussing Catholic-Anglican antagonism, showing again that moderns have gained little insight from our ancestors' mistakes.The book has very few weaknesses. A royal genealogy diagram would be helpful, but many are available. A few parallels with modern history are neatly if briefly presented. Little is written about those close to Charles who survived his death in 1685, his queen, mistresses and children. And I was curious if those who helped save Charles' life during his flight in 1651 were suitably rewarded once he became king!I very much enjoyed Mr. Coote's style and presentation. He reads well and easily, and I often had trouble setting his book down, wondering what would happen. The author is particularly strong when explaining European politics and religious doctrines, ordinarily dry and difficult topics. His book is highly recommended.

This book is excellently researched and well presented. The turbulent times of the reign of Charles II cast a long shadow on the following centuries of English and European history. The author gives us a most valuable guide. The book is easy to read and I recommend it highly.

This book is very cleverly put together by Mr. Coote. I've noticed that some of the professional reviews tend to dwell on the more salacious parts but the vast majority of the book is about the power politics involved in the struggle between Charles and Parliament. It is a tribute to Mr. Coote that he makes the principles involved interesting and understandable to the modern reader. He throws in just enough information about Charles's personal life to provide a nice breather from all the politics. You learn about all of the mistresses and illegitimate children and how Charles liked to spend his personal time. He was a very physical and fit man who was quite tall for the times (6 foot 2) and liked to hunt and fish and play tennis and was an excellent horseman. The first third or so of the book, when Charles was on the run from Cromwell and the Roundheads and then in exile was also very interesting and even exciting. Charles proved himself to be very brave and resourceful and also intelligent and devious. The book maintains a nice balance between the political and the personal and is a good introduction to the times.

I just finished reading Amanda Foreman's "Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire" and have now picked up Stephen Coote's "Royal Survivor." This is a great book, very much in the same vein as "Georgiana" and every bit as involving. If you love good, popular historical biography, I'd give this one a try.