Royal Escape: In which a dare-devil King with a price on his head fools his enemies and terrifies his friends [Paperback]

Georgette Heyer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2008

A fascinating look into a tumultuous interlude in British history and the life of Bonnie Prince Charlie.

This brilliantly entertaining novel is a fictionalization of the true story of Charles II (May 29, 1630 – February 6, 1685), charting his daring flight to France after the Battle of Worcester, where Cromwell and his Protestant forces defeated the Catholic king. For six weeks, Charles' life was in danger as he hid in the English countryside, disguised as a servant, unable to find a way across heavily guarded borders. His loyal courtiers were appalled by the ease and glee with which he adopted his new humble identity, insisting on chatting and even drinking with ostlers and houseboys. Two young women were instrumental in his eventual escape and one of them became a lifelong friend of the exiled king.
(20080602)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Royal Escape is one of those historical novels that contains a lot more history than the casual listener expects. A considerable amount of meticulous research went into this story about Charles II, who had been smuggled to safety in France as a young boy. In 1650, the young man returns to Scotland and attempts to forge an alliance with Presbyterian Covenant forces to reclaim his father's throne. All his plans come to ruin in 1651, when the Scottish army is defeated at the Battle of Worcester by the English under Oliver Cromwell. Charles, disguised as a servant, is forced to flee for his life and spends 40 days roaming the English countryside in search of a way to get back to France. Heyer portrays Charles II as a charming, levelheaded, and brave young man who manages to retain his calm and sense of humor despite the dashing of his hopes and constant threats to his life. In spite of the archaic language used in the dialog, a clear, precise narration by Cornelius Garrett moves the tale along smoothly. His changes in diction, accent, and tone enable the listener to keep the large number of characters differentiated. This program is highly recommended for libraries where historical fiction or the works of Heyer are popular. Barbara L. Rhodes, Northeast Texas Lib. Syst., Garland
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Review

In short, "Royal Escape" is just the thing for you if you're into royalty, romance, and adventure. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark (June 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402210760
• ISBN-13: 978-1402210761
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #419,709 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Author of over fifty books, Georgette Heyer is the best-known and best-loved of all historical novelists, making the Regency period her own. Her first novel, "The Black Moth," published in 1921, was written at the age of fifteen to amuse her convalescent brother; her last was My Lord John. Although most famous for her historical novels, she also wrote eleven detective stories. Georgette Heyer died in 1974 at the age of seventy-one.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Heyer's best, but not that bad, June 3, 2005

By 

History Buff - See all my reviews

This review is from: Royal Escape (Paperback)

If you love Heyer's light-hearted romances, or her mysteries, this may not be for you. It is more history than romance, and as the former reviewer stated, it's a little hard sometimes to distinquish the "good guys." Nevertheless, it is reasonably true to the period and the events. There were then, as now, Puritans and Puritans. Not all were exactly blameless - the "Roundhead" forces were guilty of as many atrocities as the other side. Incidents such as the one the former reviewer finds so objectionable did happen. To the Puritans, these people were Satan's tools as well as traitors. Many of the Catholics felt the same way about the Puritans, and Heyer does favor that side.

As for the Stuart immorality - none of the royal houses of Europe of that period (or any?) were known for their blameless lives where the opposite sex was involved.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well-done history but no romance, February 9, 2006

By 

C. Robinson (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Royal Escape (Paperback)

Those who pick up this book because of the author's name and the romance-novel cover will probably give up on it after the first few chapters. There's no romance, though a couple of the young women involved in helping the embattled king to get from hiding place to hiding place have strong affection for him, and he'll flirt with any woman who gives him a smile. The history, I'm sure, is authentic, and quite interesting, for someone like me who knows little about the period apart from the fact that Charles II does eventually take the throne. As for a previous reviewer's comment about the king's Catholicism, I didn't see that at all; he was willing to listen thoughtfully to Catholics and was embittered--with good reason--by Puritan attitudes, but unlike so many of his predecessors, he wasn't into taking passionate sides and persecution of the Others.

It's not your usual Heyer, but it's worth a read if you're interested in English history.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Good, August 22, 2009

By 

V. Muratore (Tulsa, OK United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Royal Escape: In which a dare-devil King with a price on his head fools his enemies and terrifies his friends (Paperback)

Heyer's historical novels are typically not my favorites, but this one--possibly because it's so accurate and well-paced--was fascinating and fun. Even had I no knowledge of the events, it would be a great read. But Heyer's able to flesh out the facts of the well-known story. Since, as her husband boasted, her research is thorough and flawless, I never had to wonder (as one must with so many authors of this ilk), "Did it really happen like that?" That's one of the things that makes Heyer such a comfortable author: she's trust-worthy.