Killers of the King

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What to expect

Bloomsbury presents Killers of the King by Charles Spencer, read by Richard Trinder.

Charles Spencer tells the shocking stories and fascinating fates of the men who signed Charles I’s death warrant in this Sunday Times bestseller

'Seamless, pacy and riveting ... exceptional' ALISON WEIR
'The virtues of a thriller and of scholarship are potently combined' TOM HOLLAND
'Outstanding: a thrilling tale of retribution and bloody sacrifice' JESSIE CHILDS
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January, 1649. After seven years of fighting in the bloodiest war in Britain’s history, Parliament faced a problem: what to do with a defeated king, a king who refused to surrender?

Parliamentarians resolved to do the unthinkable, to disregard the Divine Right of Kings and hold Charles I to account for the appalling suffering and slaughter endured by his people. On an icy winter’s day on a scaffold outside Whitehall, the King of England was executed.

When the dead king’s son, Charles II, was restored to the throne, he set about enacting a deadly wave of retribution against all those – the lawyers, the judges, the officers on the scaffold – responsible for his father’s death.

Bestselling historian Charles Spencer explores this violent clash of ideals through the individuals whose fates were determined by that one, momentous decision. A powerful tale of revenge from the dark heart of royal history and a fascinating insight into the dangers of political and religious allegiance in Stuart England, these are the shocking stories of the men who dared to kill a king.

Critics Review

Beautifully written and meticulously researched
Evening Standard
History with the pace of a thriller ... I learned much I never knew
Observer
Brilliant ... A thrilling tale of regicide and revenge
Independent
Very good … Dense and well-researched … Some of the stories are extraordinary … Spine-tingling detail
The Times
A pacy, well-researched and beautifully written story of intrigue, betrayal and Realpolitik, but above all cold-blooded institutionalized revenge on a massive international scale
Andrew Roberts
Accomplished and gruesome, this masterful account of the fate of the regicides breaks all barriers in weaving the lives – and the grim fates – of many into a seamless, pacy and riveting read, underpinned by the depth of scholarship for which Charles Spencer is renowned. An exceptional and highly original history book that sheds new light on one of England’s bloodiest episodes
Alison Weir
Imagine The Odessa File re-written by Christopher Hill, and you will have some idea of the pleasure to be had in reading Killers of the King. The virtues of a thriller and of scholarship are potently combined
Tom Holland
Outstanding: a thrilling tale of retribution and bloody sacrifice, unflinching idealism and craven miscreancy. In fluent, measured, often witty prose, Killers of the King brilliantly evokes that febrile time when the hunters became the hunted and vengeance was avenged. Like all the best history books, it succeeds not only in telling a remarkable story, but also in illuminating the entire age
Jessie Childs

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