About this item
When Charles I was executed, his sonCharles II made it his role to seek out retribution, producing the biggestmanhunt Britain had ever seen, one that wouldspan Europe and America and wouldlast for thirty years. "We shall pursue and bring to their due punishment those bloody traitors who were either actors or contrivers of that unparalleled and inhuman murder. "So vowed the nineteen-year-old Prince of Wales, following the beheading of his father Charles I in January 1649. From exile, he instigated what became the biggest manhunt the nation had ever seen, spreading out across Europe and Americaand lasting for over thirty years. When he ascended to the throne in 1660 as Charles II, his search for revenge intensified, with show trials in London and assassination squads scouring foreign countries.
About the Author
During a career writing for newspapers and television, I began writing history books with my friend and historian Michael Walsh. it seemed a logical extension to the historical documentaries we'd been involved with. Soon after, the Founding-Director of the Centre for Investigative Journalism, Gavin MacFadyen, said we had 'Invested a new genre - investigative history.' We began to think - and hope - we were on the right track. When Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison called White Cargo a 'remarkable book' and said on NPR that it was the catalyst for her novel A Mercy, we were thrilled. After that, we were emboldened to continue trying to find something which other writers hadn't said. Hence, in The King's Revenge, we covered an aspect of Charles II's restoration which previous biographers had omitted to explore. The same driving force was behind The King's Bed. Mike Walsh sadly died a few years ago and since then I've carried on without his wisdom and comradeship as best I can, trying to say things others haven't.
