Customer Reviews

Royal Survivor: The Life of Charles II

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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.

The Author, Mr. Stephen Coote, handles this biography in a manner that I wish were more prevalent. Rather than writing a three-inch thick, thousand-page work, he states his premise about his subject, and then confines himself to what is appropriate within the context he has outlined. This is not a work that lists every piece of paper the subject ever held, and who was there handing him a pen. Mr. Coote delivers a disciplined, concise narrative, not a leaden overwrought tome that takes two people to carry. He makes his work accessible, readable, and still produces the work of a scholar. Happily more biographers seem to be adopting a more appealing way to enjoy History, the reading is interesting, and the only way it could be otherwise is to write three words where one will suffice.

Charles II is a fascinating character that lived through a time of other major historical events that make this book all the more interesting. I have read many references to the infamous Great London Fire of 1666, but this is the first time the extent of the devastation made the impact on this reader that an event of its magnitude should. The better known events are all here, the plague of 1665, members of the Royalty changing, or appearing to change Religions as often as they changed their clothes, the children whose Patrimony was questionable many times, the intrigues at the Court, and the endless maze of deals and deceptions between England, Scotland, France, Spain, and the Low Countries. Family ties were as strong as they were useful, and loyalty to the king, or of his subjects changed with the wind, the latest eclipse, or comet.

What is concentrated upon here is the King that Charles II became, and the events in his life that brought him there. The trauma, the defeats, the betrayal, and a young Son forced to cope with the murder of his Father. This was a King who would travel on foot to escape his enemies, who would walk among them if required; this was a man of rare courage. He was also a King caught in the maelstrom that was England continually ripping herself asunder with religion. He was forced to deal with Papists, Anglicans, and a host of other groups that made the already complex political situation in England all the worse. And when not attempting this balancing act, he faced Royalists, Parliamentarians, and a host of individuals with both an axe to grind, and an axe they would happily had cleaved the King's skull with if given half a chance.

Oliver Cromwell, Archibald Campbell Earl Of Argyll, Louis XIV of France and the bloodiest Naval Battle with the Dutch in May of 1666, are all just pieces of this wonderful work. I made a comment in another review that if we had more History written this well the demand for fiction would be decreased. I felt that way then, I feel it even more strongly now.

Stephen Coote's biography on Charles II is an enjoyable story of a man who the author has titled `Royal Survivor'. This book, which is just under 400 pages (hardback format), takes the reader on a trip with Charles II, through his trials and tribulations, his victories and his defeats. We follow Charles II from boyhood, the death of his father and his attempt to re-claim the throne which met its end at the Battle of Worcester. Then the author takes us along with Charles II as he makes an exciting escape from England back into exile and then his triumphant return to the Throne of England.

We then settle into an account of Charles II as the King of England, his conflicts with Parliament and the tales of his many mistresses. We follow the story through the period of the Restoration and other great events that occurred during his reign. After finishing this book I really believed that I had gained a better understanding of the subject and the times. In fact I came away from feeling that the King wasn't all that bad and maybe he did try to do his best for England (within a certain framework).

Not only did the book offer an account of Charles II and his private life but we are also provided with accounts of his struggle with the Dutch provinces, France and its King, along with the plague and the Great Fire of London. I would not consider the book to be an in-depth biography but more of a narrative history offering the reader a general overview of the subject. That said, I still found the story interesting and learnt quite a few things along the way.

I believe that anyone who enjoys good history without too many dates and names will be quite taken with this account of Charles II. The book provides the reader with a free flowing narrative, holding your interest throughout the whole story. The book is well presented and has a number of black and white photographs of the period. Overall this is an excellent story and well worth the time to read.

I found Stephen Coote's biography on King Charles II to be quite good. The book proves to be well written and well researched. The author managed to bring out the character and personality of this king in his biography that proves to be both informative and entertaining. I believed that the key element of this biography is the high readability of the book to almost anyone interested in the subject matter. Its a book written for the general masses, not for scholars or footnotes fanatics.

If there's a general weakness in the author's approach, it seem like the author appears to excused Charles' many extra-sexual activities. Coote regards Charles' high sexual activities as result of his dire poverty-stricken existence during his long exile. He seem to have more mistresses then most other Kings of England put together. King Charles II that come from this book appears to be a man, highly intelligent, got the "common touch" and acute in politics but he's also lazy, rash and live for the moment type of individual. He have endured what most Kings of England never had to endured and that created some interesting contradictions in his character which the book goes into very nicely.

This biography come highly recommended to anyone interested in this time period.

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.

This book has gotten good reviews in this forum, but I'd like to offer a dissenting viewpoint. This book may have a "lively" style but it is poorly researched. It appears as though the author did no research in archives. The material has all appeared elsewhere. The bulk of the book is based on secondary sources. Fully 85% of the footnotes are from secondary sources. Some quotations are rendered with no footnotes at all. The footnotes aren't even consistent in their form. This a poorly researched & sloppily edited book. There are much better books on Charles that you can get.

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.

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.

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.