Charles I - A Political Life
03 Aug 05

This is the only up-to-date major biography of Charles I, which takes full account of recent scholarship. Assessing his contribution to the politics of the era, it rejects recent assessments that Charles was “unfit to be king”. Instead, it emphasises his strengths and qualities, as well as his weaknesses, to give a balanced view of his aptitude as a king.

Taking you into the world of high politics in Charles’s reign, this book brings together the strands which combined to such dramatic effect: politics, religious conflict, court culture, Renaissance ideas of monarchy and the emergence of a ‘public sphere’ of news and debate. It also discusses the role of Queen Henrietta Maria, one of the most politically powerful consorts in English history.

The book concludes that Charles I was not ‘unfit to be a king’ but that, none the less, his prejudices, attitudes and mishandling of political crises did much to bring about a civil war in Britain . It also shows how ultimately, after the war, Charles pushed his enemies into a position where they had little choice but to execute him.

Professor Barry Coward ( Birbeck College ) commented that: “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.”

	Charles I - A Political Life
	Author	Dr Richard Cust
	Pub Date	1 July 2005
	Price	£19.99
	Publisher	Longman
	ISBN	0582070341
		Buy online from www.pearson-books.com before 2nd September 2005 to save 10% on the RRP of £19.99. Click here for further information or to purchase Charles I - A Political Life.

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