New Historic Series·city of Kings: Charles Ii and London That Changed History
About This Novel
During the reign of Charles II, the city of London was in constant flux. After several years of civil war and political turmoil, London entered a new era and became a center of major progress in the fields of science and technology, literature, drama, architecture, astronomy, medicine, statistics, finance, trade, navigation and shipbuilding, politics, and military. It showed unprecedented vitality and paved the way for the quiet formation of modern England. And this vitality has the king at its core. In 1660, Charles II ended his exile and entered a city he had not visited in nearly 20 years. His restoration ignited the explosive development of all areas of the city. London gradually emerged as a prosperous city, with its wealth, vitality and success owed to many of its now-familiar luminaries, including Newton, Hooke, Boyle, John Webb, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, William Davenant, Christopher Wren, Samuel Pepys and John Dryden, as well as others overlooked by history. Charles II's 25-year reign was not all smooth sailing. During this period, London suffered several major setbacks: the plague pandemic in 1665, the catastrophic fire in 1666, and the disastrous defeat in the Second Anglo-Dutch War, all of which led to obvious economic decline. Faced with tests such as these, Charlie's character is exposed. He proved to be a contradictory man: both brave and selfless, but also too selfish. Despite the King's shaky governance, thanks to the ingenuity and resilience of Londoners, the city rose from the ashes to become the economic capital of Europe; and much of what would shape modern Britain first took shape during this period.
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