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Royal Escape
A fascinating look into a tumultuous interlude in British history and the life of Bonnie Prince Charlie.
This brilliantly entertaining novel is a fictionalization of the true story of Charles II (May 29, 1630 February 6, 1685), charting his daring flight to France after the Battle of Worcester, where Cromwell and his Protestant forces defeated the Catholic king. For six we...more
This brilliantly entertaining novel is a fictionalization of the true story of Charles II (May 29, 1630 February 6, 1685), charting his daring flight to France after the Battle of Worcester, where Cromwell and his Protestant forces defeated the Catholic king. For six we...more
Paperback, 453 pages
Published
June 1st 2008
by Sourcebooks Landmark
(first published 1938)
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-Charles II was the king of Great Britain and Ireland (1660-1685), the eldest son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria of France.(sister of King Louis XIII) He took the throne after years of exile. Much of his reign was devoted to the struggle between Anglicans, Catholics and dissenters over the laws of the Clarendon Code. He was popularly known as the Merrie Monarch, in reference to the liveliness and hedonism of his court.
Monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Charles II's...more
Monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Charles II's...more
Set after the execution of Charles I, this book tells the story of Charles II after his forces lose the Battle of Worcester and he is forced to try and escape the country and go into hiding in France. To be honest there isn’t much of a plot to this book. Okay, so we have the would-be king riding about the English countryside, or sometimes walking, trying to escape. But we all know that he does, escape that is, I mean we have all heard of the Restoration right? So the book is more of a character...more
As my book "The September Queen" recounts Charles II's escape after the Battle of Worcester - primarily the part involving Jane Lane, and her subsequent relationship with Charles - it was interesting to get acquainted with this book recently.
It was enjoyable and compelling. I have a couple of minor complaints -the country folks and working class people are treated rather patronizingly and frequently seem like buffoons - though I think this is intensified by the reading (I listened to an audio ve...more
It was enjoyable and compelling. I have a couple of minor complaints -the country folks and working class people are treated rather patronizingly and frequently seem like buffoons - though I think this is intensified by the reading (I listened to an audio ve...more
Georgette Heyer is really hit and miss for me. I think the hardest part of this book was that the description of it was misleading....I was anticipating this great heroine, and there wasn't one. The only worthwhile female in the book didn't show up till 100 pages in and then was present for only about five pages. Now, I'm not a huge women's rights person, but if you tell me there's going to be a female lead, I think there should be a female lead. Anyway, the whole 250 pages spanned about five da...more
I have to say upfront that Georgette Heyer is one of my favourite writers. Her storytelling ability, her historical accuracy, both for events and for language used, are exemplary and she writes beautifully. Royal Escape isn't the sort of book she is known for, but she always wanted to write more historical books, so makes sense knowng that. She never manages to shake off her ability to spin a yarn though, and this book, while historically impeccable, is a delightful read. There aren't many stron...more
I adored this book finding it nonstop fascinating. Everything that other people found boring I found fascinating. ALL the loyal Royalist English that help Charles II escape! And of course, since I knew LITTLE about this time period, I have checked out a whole bunch of books to find out more about him. Our President just got inaugurated this morning (1/21/13) and so the political aspects of religious strife and unstable governments are very relevant.
I also found it fascinating that Heyer wrote th...more
I also found it fascinating that Heyer wrote th...more
All through the book Charles II is described as ugly. I thought this was an exaggeration, because he sounds like a pretty awesome bloke, but after reading I did an image search on Google, and he IS ugly! I'm gobsmacked he wasn't captured, he looks so distinctive! As a side note, apparently he was so inbred that his "inbreeding coefficient" was higher than the offspring of a brother and sister! Sorry for all the exclamation marks!
I really enjoyed this, and feel like I've learnt a nice chunk of hi...more
I really enjoyed this, and feel like I've learnt a nice chunk of hi...more
Not the best of Heyer's works, but if you are looking for a true historical fiction and are willing to leave the realm of her typical romance fare for a bit, this is an interesting timeline of the the escape of King Charles II. Heyer made Charles quite likeable, even endowing him with quite a reckless sense of humor; whether this is her elaboration or fact, it makes the somewhat ponderous story much more entertaining. As always, her thoroughness in historical research is gratifying and leaves th...more
Heyer's historical fiction is impeccably researched and always a good read. However, the booksellers market her novels as historical romance even when there is no romantic involvement of the characters in this story. Indeed, the only reason for a female in this story is as part of the disguise for Charles II as he escapes to France.
If you want a bodice ripper, Ms. Heyer is not your author. If you want witty, drawing-room farce, Royal Escape is not your novel
If you want a bodice ripper, Ms. Heyer is not your author. If you want witty, drawing-room farce, Royal Escape is not your novel
Ok, this is NOT one of my favorite Heyer books. I read to within about 60 pages of the end and then skipped ahead to the last few pages. So, technically, I guess I finished it, ala Cab Edwards, but it just got to be repetitive about how poor ole Lord Wilmot et al were going to be able to get Charles II out of England before the Roundheads (Parlimentarians/Puritans/Cromwell's guys) found him. I'll stay happily with Heyer's Regency romances from now on.
I got this book as a Christmas gift. I was not acquainted with this author but having read her book I am anxious to get a chance to read more of her works. The book was a true story but so well written it read like a very good novel. I have always enjoyed good books about life in old England I guess partly because I have ancestors that were there then but this book will surely have to be listed among my favorites. Great read!
In all honesty, I did not finish this book, so maybe it would be more stars, who knows....
I have very little time to read now and I like to just read for entertainment and although the writing is great and the story is interesting, this book gets really into the French Revolution and just too detailed about military campaign and history for me to totally enjoy it, so I decided to pick up other Georgette Heyer books instead.
I have very little time to read now and I like to just read for entertainment and although the writing is great and the story is interesting, this book gets really into the French Revolution and just too detailed about military campaign and history for me to totally enjoy it, so I decided to pick up other Georgette Heyer books instead.
This was the slowest, very boring adventures of escape of King Charles. After losing a battle against rebels, the king and his advisor run across England trying to get to France. Wilmont, the Kings trusted service man, seems to be the one who worries about capture more than the King. Because the King seems to not worry about being captured, this book dragged.
Historically, the book was interesting.
Historically, the book was interesting.
Oct 18, 2010
Lauren
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
adult-historical-fiction,
favorite-author
A fictioanlized version of King Charles' escape from England. Not a story I would normally care to spend time on but ANYTHING from the incredible Miss Heyer and I must read on...I just can't help myslef. I imagine that a person truly interested in this story would be wonderfuly entertained, for me it was a bit "Planes. Trains and Automobiles" but such a sweet ugly young monarch, who could not love him and cheer his helpers on??
This is one of Heyer's non-Regency historicals, and oh my good lord it just about put me under. The ponderosity of the writing reminded me of Dunnett's Game of Kings, which took me forever to get through. It didn't have a very elegant story arc, which I suppose is difficult to finesse when you're working with real events, but I also wasn't particularly engaged by any of the characters.
Lienee saavutus kirjoittaa kirja kuninkaan pakomatkasta hävityn sodan painaessa ja hirttotuomion uhatessa. Sellainen kirja, jossa kenestäkään ei tule verta, kenelläkään ei ole kiire, yhtään taistelua ei käydä, kukaan ei tunne juurikaan vetoa kehenkään ja ainoat keskustelut liittyvät korttipeliin tai siihen, kuinka mielliyttävä persoona kuningas on. Pitkä kirja.
Audio booked this and really liked the narrator. It was interesting to get a more historical novel from Heyer than a romantic one. Realized near the end it's the middle of a trilogy, so now I'll have to find the other ones that book-end it. I liked the story and the characters. The problem with historical fiction is you don't know what's real and what's fictional, but I still learned more about this period than I knew before. :)
I only two stars enjoyed it, but the writing is good, so I give it three stars. It is by far the most boring Heyer I've read yet, though it did have its moments. The whole thing is the king's escape to France. Perhaps it is the American in me, but I don't have much use for royalty, fiction or otherwise.
I tried to listen to this audio book twice and can't get through it. Come to find out, it's a straight-up historical fiction and not one of Heyer's regency stories. I usually like historical fiction, but I just wasn't interested in this story, I guess.
Oh dear. So close and yet so far. This was an excellent, fun book in parts, but I feel like a good hundred pages and some whole chapters could have gone without being missed. It was tedious in parts, and never lived up to its initial promise.
This is not one of Georgette Heyer's best. There are way too many characters, and not enough dialogue. Heyer couldn't write badly if she tried, though, so it is still funny and the King is interesting and likeable.
Jan 22, 2009
Yati
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction,
2009
I picked the book up on a whim. It was a fast read, despite me stumbling over some of the vocabulary, and enjoyable too. Now I shall go look up Charles II and see whether he managed to keep his head in the end and reward those nice people who helped him.
I haven't read this in years so it probably deserves another reading, but I remember being disappointed in this tale of bonny Prince Charlie's escape after the Battle of Worcester.
This book was reasonably entertaining, but I didn't like it anywhere near as much as Heyer's romances. Plus, it was a little repetitive, with all the "and then he hid out in so-and-so's house, and they remarked on how tall he was, and he charmed all the ladies!" So, yeah. I think I'll be sticking with the romances in the future.
Re read an old favourite - enjoyed even more having visited one of the houses in the story - and living in Wolverhampton where the early parts of the story are set
Six weeks during the life of James Stuart"Black Boy" Henry II. He travels the country side, hiding at various supporters houses, while trying to flee to France.
Historical imagining of young George II's escape from England after losing to Cromwell's men in the 1600s. Longer than Heyer's usual and without the romance, but with her characteristic snappy dialogue that makes you feel you are hearing speech as it was spoken at the time. I knew little of the period and it made me look up George II to learn more. The audio reader was excellent, but the book did seem to lag at times.
I don't really approve of Bonny Prince Charlie anymore so it is taking me awhile to want to keep reading this.
This was well-written (enough so that I think I'd like to try another Heyer novel at some point), but the story -- Charles II (who is tall and ugly, yet disarmingly charming) rides around the countryside, hides in a bunch of houses, and tries to find a vessel to carry him to France -- just failed to engage me.
Feb 25, 2011
Maria
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audio-books,
historical-fiction
Charles II is on the run, across Cromwell's England, fleeing to France. He meets friends, foes and the common man.
Why I started this: I wanted an audio book to listen to with Mom as we drove across the country. Having listened to other Heyer romances I thought that this would be a great pick.
Why I finished it: First of all, this was not a romance like I was expecting. With the traumatic end to our road trip, it took me a while to get back to the audio book. If you love historical fiction and enj...more
Why I started this: I wanted an audio book to listen to with Mom as we drove across the country. Having listened to other Heyer romances I thought that this would be a great pick.
Why I finished it: First of all, this was not a romance like I was expecting. With the traumatic end to our road trip, it took me a while to get back to the audio book. If you love historical fiction and enj...more
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Georgette Heyer was an amazingly prolific writer who created the Regency England genre of romance novels.
Georgette Heyer was an intensely private person. A best-seller all her life without the aid of publicity, she made no appearances, never gave an interview, and only answered fan letters herself if they made an interesting historical point. Heyer wrote very well-researched historical fiction, fu...more
More about Georgette Heyer...
Georgette Heyer was an intensely private person. A best-seller all her life without the aid of publicity, she made no appearances, never gave an interview, and only answered fan letters herself if they made an interesting historical point. Heyer wrote very well-researched historical fiction, fu...more
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Jan 23, 2010 10:12am