James II (The English Monarchs Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)James II has been vilified as representing monarchical absolutism and militant Catholicism almost since the 1688 revolution. How such a tyrant could have been
Removed from power by a bloodless coup (in England at any rate) sits somewhat uneasily with the accepted wisdom. Miller paints a more complex picture of James eventful early life - escaping from Cromwell, shadowing his elder brother around Europe. He gives a fair account of James prowess as a naval commander and his organisational and administrative skills in the later years of the reign Charles II.
James was torn between his complete loyalty to Charles and his conversion to Catholicism in the 1680's, Charles also showed both exasperation and loyalty towards his rather awkward brother - preferring Monmouth, his natural (though not legitimate) son, but insisting that James be his successor, despite increasingly virulent opposition.
James came to view the fact of his succession - despite many travails, false alarms in terms of Charles producing a legitimate heir, and almost hysterical Whig opposition - as a sign of divine favour. Miller also points out that , for most of his reign James accepted that William of Orange - a Protestant married to his Protestant daughter, Mary - would be his successor. This gave impetus to James to improve the plight of his co-religionists and explains his haste to do so. However Parliamentary opposition to an Act of Toleration led James both to use his power to dispense with Parliamentary acts for particular individuals and to attempt to shape Parliamentary support for his proposals. Both acts were interpreted (after the Revolution) as proof of his authoritarianism. His need for a standing army became an even great cause for concern as he began to nominate more Catholic officers. In actual fact Miller shows James as acting in the tradition of the later years of Charles' rule - attempting to influence the selection and election of loyal parliamentarians, and Miller argues that James' view on legislation, dispensing and suspending powers were at least legally arguable. James did overstep the mark by attempting to populate the judiciary with loyalists (or toadies).
Miller's view however is that having succeeded in getting the most loyal parliament in 1685, James failed to recognize the limits of his parliamentary support.
Having failed to win parliament to toleration, he believed he could again reshape parliament to elect people more amenable to toleration. In this he was, to say the least, poorly advised; and this effort, combined with its consequent attack on the Church of England, led to the fall off in support which led to the invitation to William of Orange to come and help sort out the situation.
Once William landed - undeterred by French threats, the English Navy and Winter weather - James' belief in Providence seems to have collapsed and he viewed the subsequent desertions by his family and officers as a Divine punishment for past sins.
His subsequent years seemed almost to embrace the failure to regain his position and he was viewed by Louis XIV as a figure of sympathy and pity.
Millers scholarship and use of direct contemporary sources is most comprehensive, his judgements of James are clear, direct and credible. This is a book to be cherished.


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A study of King James II and his reign, drawing on a wide array of primary sources from France, Italy and Ireland, as well as England. It explores James's relations with the state and society, focusing on the political, diplomatic and religious issues that shaped his reign.

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Nell Gwyn Review

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(More customer reviews)This paragraph just added:
Derek Parker's so-called biography of Nell Gwyn is about as grounded in reality as his books on astrology, his major claim to fame. Forget Parker and buy Charles Beauclerk's "Nell Gwyn: Mistress to a King" (2005). Beauclerk is a direct descendant of Charles II and Nell Gwyn, but more importantly he is a scholar who did his homework and invests years of research in his fascinating, eye-opening biography. He casts a fresh eye not only on Nell, but also on Charles II and Restoration London.
My original review:
I am disappointed to report that Derek Parker's "Nell Gwyn" is a travesty of scholarship. I give you three (of many) cases in point:
Chapter 2, page 14, he writes: "In exile, during the Interregnum, he [Charles II] and his friend Rochester (fn5) cut a swathe through the Continent's available women." The footnote then identifies Rochester as "John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (1647-80), a close friend of Charles throughout their lives."
The Rochester who cavorted with Charles on the Continent was Henry Wilmot, the 1st Earl of Rochester, John's father, who saved Charles's life when he was forced to flee England. John wasn't even a teenager until Charles returned from France.
Chapter 4, page 74, the author writes: "Rochester himself wrote a not particularly good play, 'The Rehearsal.'"
In all other scholarly works I've read on the subject, "The Rehearsal" is attributed to George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham, a member of "The Merry Gang." It is quite likely that Rochester contributed ideas, as he was wont to do for many of his playwright friends, including Dryden, but he was not the author of "The Rehearsal." Furthermore, the play was quite good, and groundbreaking, just not a classic.
Chapter 3, page 52, the author writes: "Dryden saw them [Charles Hart and Nell Gwyn] as Philidor and Mirida in 'All Mistaken,' by his brother-in-law James Howard -- a low comedy in which most of the entertainment derived from the attempts of a fat courtier, Pinguister, to court a pretty maid (Mirida, played by Nell). Hart rolled about the stage with Nell in his arms, rising occasionally to rush from the stage unbuttoning his breeches in order to deal with the consequences of a purge which someone had given him."
This is not at all what happens in "All Mistaken." Pinguister takes the purges voluntarily from his Doctor in order to lose weight so that Mirida will marry him. And, when they are rolling about on the stage, she is not in his arms, she is distant from him rolling away from him as he rolls toward her, because she has promised to marry him if he can catch her. She is making Pinguister her 6th "fool" to round out her half dozen. And he doesn't "rise occasionally" to go purge; he can't even get up without her help. When she does help him up, she takes him on in a swordfight and disarms him. It is also possible (I emphasize possible) that this performance by Nell was what captured Charles' attention and led to their affair.
It appears that, rather than read the plays Nell appeared in, the author found it more convenient to read someone else's inaccurate descriptions.
To attribute "The Rehearsal" to Rochester is inexplicable.
Not knowing the difference between Henry Wilmot and John Wilmot suggests that the author is not really familiar with the life of Charles II, and, if he's not familiar with the life of Charles II, he cannot possibly have anything worthwhile to contribute to our knowledge about the life of Nell Gwyn.

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Nell Gwyn Entertains the reader with the story of the actress nell Gwyn, daughter of a brothel keeper who became Charles II's favorite mistress.

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