Publishers Weekly called Katherine the Queen “Rich, perceptive, and creative.” In Royal Renegades, Porter examines the turbulent lives of the children of Charles I and the English Civil Wars. The fact that the English Civil War led to the execution of King Charles I in January 1649 is well known, as is the restoration of his eldest son as Charles II eleven years later. But what happened to the king’s six surviving children is far less familiar. Casting new light on the heirs of the doomed king, acclaimed historian Linda Porter brings to life their personalities, legacies, and rivalries for the first time. As their family life was shattered by war, Elizabeth and Henry were used as pawns in the parliamentary campaign against their father; Mary, the Princess Royal, was whisked away to the Netherlands as the child bride of the Prince of Orange; Henriette, Anne’s governess, escaped with the king’s youngest child to France where she eventually married the cruel and flamboyant Philippe d’Orleans. When their "dark and ugly" brother Charles eventually succeeded his father to the English throne after fourteen years of wandering, he promptly enacted a vengeful punishment on those who had spurned his family, with his brother James firmly in his shadow. A tale of love and endurance, of battles and flight, of educations disrupted, the lonely death of a young princess and the wearisome experience of exile, Royal Renegades charts the fascinating story of the children of loving parents who could not protect them from the consequences of their own failings as monarchs and the forces of upheaval sweeping England.

Charles I provides a detailed overview of Charles Stuart, placing his reign firmly within the wider context of this turbulent period and examining the nature of one of the most complex monarchs in British history. The book is organised chronologically, beginning in 1600 and covering Charles’ early life, his first difficulties with his parliaments, the Personal Rule, the outbreak of Civil War, and his trial and eventual execution in 1649. Interwoven with historiography, the book emphasises the impact of Charles’ challenging inheritance on his early years as king and explores the transition from his original championing of international Protestantism to his later vision of a strong and centralised monarchy influenced by continental models, which eventually provoked rebellion and civil war across his three kingdoms. This study brings to light the mass of contradictions within Charles’ nature and his unusual approach to monarchy, resulting in his unrivaled status as the only English king to have been tried and executed by his own subjects. Offering a fresh approach to this significant reign and the fascinating character that held it, Charles I is the perfect book for students of early modern Britain and the English Civil War.

Brereton's journal is a book made up of letters from the English Civil War (1642-1646). A Parliamentary general, Sir William was engaged in the siege of Dudley Castle, Bridgnorth Castle and the fortifield cathedral close at Lichfield. The Letter Book contains copies of letters sent and received by Brereton. There are details of his victory against the last Royalist army in the field, his various sieges, his constant need for money and more troops, and the movements of King Charles I prior to his surrender to the Scots. The Introduction details a history of the civil war, of the battles and skirmishes, up to the writing of the Letter Book. A conclusion relates what happened after: the end of the war, the trial and execution of Charles I, the Interregnum and finally the Restoration and Brereton's retirement from public life.

When the English Civil War broke out, London’s economy was diverse and dynamic, closely connected through commercial networks with the rest of England and with Europe, Asia and North America. As such it was uniquely vulnerable to hostile acts by supporters of the king, both those at large in the country and those within the capital. Yet despite numerous difficulties, the capital remained the economic powerhouse of the nation and was arguably the single most important element in Parliament’s eventual victory. For London’s wealth enabled Parliament to take up arms in 1642 and sustained it through the difficult first year and a half of the war, without which Parliament’s ultimate victory would not have been possible. In this book the various sectors of London’s economy are examined and compared, as the war progressed. It also looks closely at the impact of war on the major pillars of the London economy, namely London’s role in external and internal trade, and manufacturing in London. The impact of the increasing burden of taxation on the capital is another key area that is studied and which yields surprising conclusions. The Civil War caused a major economic crisis in the capital, not only because of the interrelationship between its economy and that of the rest of England, but also because of its function as the hub of the social and economic networks of the kingdom and of the rest of the world. The crisis was managed, however, and one of the strengths of this study is its revelation of the means by which the city’s government sought to understand and ameliorate the unique economic circumstances which afflicted it.

Much has been written about Charles I's reign, about the brutal civil war into which his pursuit of unfettered power plunged the realm, and about the Commonwealth regime that followed his defeat and execution. His reign is one that shaped the future of the British monarch, and his legacy still remains with us today. After more than half a century of comparative neglect, The Prisoner King provides a new and much needed re-examination of the crucial period encompassing Charles I's captivity after his surrender to the Scots at Newark in May 1646. Not only were the subsequent months before his trial a time when the human dimension of the king's predicament assumed unparalleled intensity, they were also a critical watershed when the entire nation stood at the most fateful of crossroads. For Charles himself, as subterfuge, espionage and assassination rumours escalated on all fronts, escape attempts foundered, and tensions with his absent wife mounted agonisingly, the test was supreme. Yet, in a painful passage involving both stubborn impenitence and uncommon fortitude in the face of 'barbarous usage' by his captors, the 'Man of Blood' would ultimately come to merit his unique place in history as England's 'martyr king'.

The English troops serving in Ireland were vital source of experienced and possibly war-winning manpower sought after by both King and Parliament in the Civil War. The "cessation" or truce which King Charles reached with the Irish Confederates in September 1643 enabled him to begin shipping over troops fro Ireland to reinforce the Royalist armies. During the following year the "Irish", as they were frequently if inaccurately known by both sides were an important factor in the war. The Nantwich campaign (December 1643-January 1644), the consolidation of Royalist control in the Welsh Marches during the spring of 1644, the Marston Moor campaign, and the Battle of Montgomery (September 1644) all received major contributions from the troops from Ireland. Other troops from Ireland, mainly from the province of Munster, provided important reinforcements for the Western and Oxford Royalist armies during the 1644 campaigns in western and southern England. The "Irish" were still a significant part of the Royalist army during the Naseby campaign of 1645, and elements remained in action until the end of the war. The book will look at the Irish campaign and its influence on the experience and behaviour of the troops when they reached England. It will examine their equipment, logistical care, and experience following their return. It will look at the performance of some of the troops, such as the "firelocks" who changed sides and became valuable additions to the Parliamentarian forces. Also examined is the controversial topic of "native Irish" troops who were involved, and a number of prominent indiduals who also srved in the war. Full use is made of extensive contemporary primary sources and also later research.