Boscobel; Or, the Royal Oak. a Tale of the Year 1651 ... Illustrated by J. H. Rimbault.

by William Harrison Ainsworth

Boscobel; or, the Royal Oak. A tale of the year 1651 ... Illustrated by J. H. British Library, Historical Print EditionsThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is one of the world's largest research libraries holding over 150 million items in all known languages and books, journals, newspapers, sound recordings, patents, maps, stamps, prints and much more. Its collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial additional collections of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 300 BC.The GENERAL HISTORICAL collection includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. This varied collection includes material that gives readers a 19th century view of the world. Topics include health, education, economics, agriculture, environment, technology, culture, politics, labour and industry, mining, penal policy, and social order. ++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition ++++ British Library Ainsworth, William Harrison; Rimbault, J. H.; 1872. 3 vol.; 8 . 12630.dd.1.

Genres: Historical Fiction

402 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1872

About the author

William Harrison Ainsworth was educated at Manchester Grammar School and later articled to a solicitor, deserting this profession for literature.

Among his best known novels are The Tower of London (1840), Old St. Paul's (1841), Windsor Castle (1843) and The Lancashire Witches (1848).

Reviews

[Richard Rogers]

I like this a lot more than the average reader. That's okay.

I found it really interesting. It's the story of Charles II, trying to retake the throne from Oliver Cromwell after they put his father to death. The first section of the book deals with the loyalists' preparations for a battle at Worcester and the subsequent loss to the "roundheads" of Cromwell. It's well done, full of spies and skirmishes and stratagems, individual heroism and unexpected reversals. Cromwell, in this part, is as important a character and as interesting a character as Charles.

The rest of the book deals with Charles trying to escape after the loss. It's very complete, with lots of heroes. (While I'm reading, I'm rooting for Charles and his loyal supporters. I don't actually care about the monarchy, then or now, but in the books they're the good guys for sure.) There are so many close escapes, so many moments when the troops searching for him almost find him. He goes from house to house, from hidden room to hidden room to hidden cellar, from one woods to another, two or three days here, an hour there. It's pretty exciting, in its way. It's the biggest game of hide and seek I've ever heard of, and Charles won.

He almost takes ship a couple times but can't quite make it work. He pulls off a disguise now and then, and other times it fails him, and he has to fly again. Of course, in real life, he went to all these places, including the huge oak tree that he famously hid in, and eventually got help to escape to France before being ridden down.

I liked it. I thought it was fun, a good book for those who like this sort of romance (action adventure romance, not HEA kissing romance), though it might not work for everyone. It has a lot in common with romances that Dumas wrote, with constant plans and schemes and fleeing on horses and the occasional sword fight, so it might work for some of his fans. (Like me.) It's also suitable for those who like complete descriptions of manor houses and moors and harbors and villages dating back to the 17th century. Ainsworth is precise about details and doesn't stint on that stuff.

This was first published in 1872. I think this edition I have is from 1899. Old enough, anyway, that someone sold it at a yard sale for 19¢. :)

[Surreysmum]

The adventures of Charles II during and immediately after his ill-fated stand at Worcester in 1651. The novel clearly incorporates a vast amount of historical research (though most of it is probably second-hand), and occasionally begins to sound just a tad too much like a textbook. And then there's the related geography - Charles is always stopping in the midst of his flight to admire some fine prospect or other. The author brings us up-to-date, too, on what has happened to all these places, and it would be quite easy, I think, to use Boscobel as a guidebook for retracing Charles' steps. Nonetheless, these quibbles aside, Ainsworth maintains his fictionality rather well, especially in the characters of Jane Lane (very high-minded), Mary Gives, Juliana Coningby, and young Will Careless (yes, there was such a person). Actually, I found something rather attractive in the intensely detailed and quite commemorative aspect of this novel. If there's one improbability I'd object to, it's the fact that Charles doesn't even have a try at Jane Lane - given his later record!

[Bettie]

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