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    To Catch A King: Charles II's Great Escape
    To Catch A King: Charles II's Great Escape
    To Catch A King: Charles II's Great Escape
    Audiobook9 hours

    To Catch A King: Charles II's Great Escape

    Written by Charles Spencer

    Narrated by Richard Trinder

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    How did the most wanted man in the country outwit the greatest manhunt in British history?

    In January 1649, King Charles I was beheaded in London outside his palace of Whitehall and Britain became a republic. When his eldest son, Charles, returned in 1651 to fight for his throne, he was crushed by the might of Cromwell’s armies at the battle of Worcester.

    With 3,000 of his supporters lying dead and 10,000 taken prisoner, it seemed as if his dreams of power had been dashed. Surely it was a foregone conclusion that he would now be caught and follow his father to the block? At six foot two inches tall, the prince towered over his contemporaries and with dark skin inherited from his French-Italian mother, he stood out in a crowd. How would he fare on the run with Cromwell’s soldiers on his tail and a vast price on his head?

    The next six weeks would form the most memorable and dramatic of Charles’ life. Pursued relentlessly, Charles ran using disguise, deception and relying on grit, fortitude and good luck. He suffered grievously through weeks when his cause seemed hopeless. He hid in an oak tree – an event so fabled that over 400 English pubs are named Royal Oak in commemoration. Less well-known events include his witnessing a village in wild celebrations at the erroneous news of his killing; the ordeal of a medical student wrongly imprisoned because of his similarity in looks; he disguised himself as a servant and as one half of an eloping couple. Once restored to the throne as Charles II, he told the tale of his escapades to Samuel Pepys, who transcribed it all.

    In this gripping, action-packed, true adventure story, based on extensive archive material, Charles Spencer, bestselling author of Killers of the King, uses Pepys’s account and many others to retell this epic adventure.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins Publishers
    Release dateOct 5, 2017
    ISBN9780008153649
    Author

    Charles Spencer

    Charles Spencer was educated at Eton College and obtained his degree in Modern History at Magdalen College, Oxford. He was a reporter on NBC’s Today show from 1986 until 1995, and is the author of four books, including the Sunday Times bestseller Blenheim: Battle for Europe (shortlisted for History Book of the Year, National Book Awards) and Prince Rupert: The Last Cavalier.

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    Reviews for To Catch A King

    4.5/5

    17 ratings4 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Really enjoyed this audio book! It was entertaining and incredibly informative. The author and narrator did a fantastic presenting so many events and information into an entertaining narrative. Highly recommend!
    • 5/5
      Anyone familiar with Jack Higgins will be aware of his best selling book The Eagle has Landed. In my opinion this book more than equals it.The scene is set in the second world war with the german army poised to invade Britain. The Duke & Duchess of Windsor are in Lisbon. The British are desperate to send them off to the Bahamas (out of sight, out of mind) and the Germans are convinced that they would jump at the chance to defect to them, whereby they would place the Duke on the throne after the invasion. A plan by the Germans is put in place in order to ensure the Duke sees things their way, and if not, then a kidnapping is in order.....Walter Schellenberg is put in charge of the case but doesn't really see things the way Himmler would like, and proves to be an almost anti hero. As usual, Higgins has created various characters to help the script flow nicely along with the pages flying by. Expect killing, torturing, double agents, & beautiful girls mixed with real life events. As in the style of many of his works there is a prologue and epilogue that tidys up events in only the way Higgins can. An excellent read and another book to add to my collection of favourites :)
    • 4/5
      Pretty good. Quick, no-nonsense.
    • 4/5
      Charles Spencer (brother of Diana, Princess of Wales). I'd probably give it higher marks but for a couple reasons. I'm not too familiar with 17th century English history. The first half is background not the 'Great Escape' and I was totally lost in a jungle of names and places and events that are unfamiliar. The escape itself has a few dramatic scenes but nothing super amazing. Finally, I read it via audiobook making it impossible to slow down and look stuff up or backtrack to fill in. So yeah, my fault, probably a great book, not for me right now. I really enjoyed Spencer's White Ship.