A Gambling Man: Charles II's Restoration Game

A Gambling Man examines the first decade of the Restoration under King Charles II, a period of experimentation spanning the founding of the Royal Society, the emergence of credit and risk in finance, the court's licentiousness, and failed attempts at religious tolerance. Charles II, known as the "slippery sovereign," navigated these developments through dissembling and manipulation, presenting himself as an actor on display while concealing his true intentions. Charles II arrived in England in May 1660 after crossing the English Channel, greeted with celebration following Cromwell's rule. However, restoration of the old order proved impossible. The beheading of his father had ended the divinity of kingship, and certainty had vanished from English life. As plague, fire, and war struck the country, people sought new ideas by which to live. Ten years after his arrival, Charles stood again at Dover's shore, entering into a secret agreement with his cousin Louis XIV of France—the greatest bet of his life. Jenny Uglow's biography combines a portrait of Charles II's elusive nature with an evocation of the Restoration era's vibrant and violent world on the brink of modernity.