King Charles I

Book categories: The King, Family, Court, Fiction, Civil War, Trial & Execution, The Stuarts

The King

Charles I: A Life of Religion, War and Treason by Christopher Hibbert. Recreates the world of Charles I, his court, and family, and traces the events that led to his execution in 1649.

Charles I by Hilaire Belloc. This classic biography is a detailed study of Charles I with all his strengths and weaknesses.

Charles I: The Personal Monarch by Charles Carlton. This biography challenges the conventional view of the king.

The Personal Rule of Charles I by Kevin Sharpe. Analyzes the personality, principles, and policies of the monarch.

Charles I: A Political Life by Richard Cust. This biography shows that Charles I was not unfit to be a king, but his prejudices and attitudes did much to cause Britain's Civil War.

The Royal Image: Representations of Charles I edited by Thomas N. Corns. Looks at sympathetic and hostile representations of Charles I during his reign and after his execution.

The King's Smuggler: Jane Whorwood, Secret Agent to Charles I by John Fox. Jane Whorwood was one of Charles I's closest confidantes. She spied and smuggled gold for the king, organized escape attempts when he was prisoner, and may have had a brief affair with him.

The Spanish Match: Prince Charles's Journey to Madrid, 1623 edited by Alexander Samson. In 1623 the future King Charles I donned a false wig and, disguised as "Mr Smith," journeyed to Madrid to secure the hand of the king of Spain's daughter. This book explores the failure of his romantic escapade and what it reveals about diplomacy, taste, art, and dress of the period, as well as its consequences for Anglo-Spanish relations.

The Prince and the Infanta: The Cultural Politics of the Spanish Match by Glyn Redworth. About one of the most bizarre episodes in British history -- the struggle of the future King Charles I to win a Spanish princess as his bride.

Image of the King: Charles I and Charles II by Richard Ollard is about the public images and self images of these two kings.

An Uncounselled King by Peter Donald is about Charles I and the Scottish troubles, 1637-1641.

King Charles I by Pauline Gregg. Biography based on original documents, letters, and speeches. Out of print, but available from Alibris.

The King's Wife & Children

Henrietta Maria and the English Civil Wars by Michelle A. White. Biography of the wife of King Charles I.

Henrietta Maria: Piety, Politics and Patronage edited by Erin Griffey. Essays on the queen's role as a patron of arts, her position between the French and English courts, and her sentiments at the outbreak of the English Civil War.

Staging the Old Faith: Queen Henrietta Maria and the Theatre of Caroline England, 1625-42 by Caroline A. Bailey. Queen Henrietta Maria's ground-breaking performances showcased her role as defender of English Catholics.

Henrietta Maria: Charles I's Indomitable Queen by Alison Plowden. Biography of the Spanish princess who married Charles I. At first they didn't get along, but eventually they became devoted to each other. Out of print, but available from Alibris.

Henrietta Maria by Elizabeth Hamilton. Subtitled "Reckless, Sensual and Demanding - the Catholic Queen Who Kept Charles I in Thrall and Cast the English Crown in Jeopardy." Out of print, but available at Alibris.

Charles II's Minette by Bryan Bevan is about Charles I's daughter Princess Henriette-Anne. Available used from Alibris.

Book About Charles II
Books About James II

Queen Henrietta Maria's Court

Women and Culture at the Courts of the Stuart Queens edited by Clare McManus. Literature, theater, patronage, and commissioning in the courts of Anna of Denmark (1603-19) and Henrietta Maria (1625-42).

Mad Madge: The Extraordinary Life of Margaret, Duchess of Newcastle, the First Woman to Live by Her Pen by Katie Whitaker. A long-time maid of honor to Queen Henrietta Maria, Margaret married the Duke of Newcastle in 1645. The duchess began publishing her poetry and essays while in exile with the queen, and continued after returning to Britain with the restoration of Charles II.

Lord Minimus: The Extraordinary Life of Britain's Smallest Man by Nick Page. Biography of little person Jeffrey Hudson, who spent 18 years in the household of Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of Britain's King Charles I. He had a truly extraordinary life -- was captured by pirates twice, killed a man in a duel, and eventually became a slave. Out of print, but available from Alibris.

Novels About Charles I & Henrietta Maria

The Young and Lonely King by Jane Lane. Portrays Charles I as a man masked in misery, from the death of his brother Henry to his disastrous marriage with Henriette Marie. From Alibris.

The Severed Crown by Jane Lane. Novel about the later life of Charles I. Out of print, but available from Alibris.

Loyal in Love by Jean Plaidy. Novel about Henrietta Maria, queen of British king Charles I. Reprint edition. (Previously published under the title Myself My Enemy.)

The Winter Prince by Cheryl Sawyer. In this romantic historical novel, Mary Villiers, adopted daughter of Britain's King Charles I, embarks on a quest to save the throne and tangles with the king's charismatic nephew, Prince Rupert of the Rhine.

English Civil War

Britain in Revolution, 1625-1660 by Austin Woolrych. Definitive history of the English Civil War, set in its full historical context from the accession of Charles I to the restoration of Charles II.

Cavalier Generals: King Charles I and His Commanders in the English Civil War by John Barratt. Explores the careers and characters of King Charles, Prince Rupert, and lesser-known Royalist officers.

Royalists and Royalism During the English Civil Wars edited by Jason McElligott and David L. Smith. Scholarly essays focusing on royalists as pragmatic, moderate men, not so different from those who sided with Parliament and its army.

Cromwell, Our Chief of Men by Antonia Fraser. Biography.

The King's Trial & Execution

"O Horrable Murder" by Robert B. Partridge. Reconstructs the trial, execution, and burial of King Charles I in vivid detail.

The Regicides and the Execution of Charles I edited by Jason Peacey. Essays with a focus on the relations between the three kingdoms of Britain.

The Cult of King Charles the Martyr by Andrew Lacey. King Charles I was viewed by some as a martyr after his execution in 1649. This is the first study to deal exclusively with the cult, from the king's death until 1859.

The Tyrannicide Brief: The Story of the Man Who Sent Charles I to the Scaffold by Geoffrey Robertson. About John Cooke, son of a poor farmer, who prosecuted King Charles I. The author believes the king was guilty as charged and his execution was necessary to establish the sovereignty of Parliament.

A Coffin for King Charles by C. V. Wedgwood. Classic account of the trial and execution of Charles I. Out of print, but available from Alibris.

The Last Days of Charles I by Graham Edwards. Recounts the trial, execution, and the king's burial. From Alibris.