Charles the Second

• Boyhood; the exiled Prince of Wales; a king in search of a realm, 1649-1650; the King of Scots, 1650-1651; a king in search of quarters, 1651-1656; the pensioner of Spain, 1656-1660; the year of restoration, 1660-1661; the flight for the settlements, 1661-1664; Charles's first Dutch War, 1664-1667; the ministry of Arlington, 1668-1672; Charles's second Dutch War, 1672-1674; the end of King Louis' War, 1674-1678; collapse of a system, 1678-1679; the quest for men and measures, 1679-1681; towards a new way of ruling, 1681-1685; conclusion - monarch in a masquerade.

'This is a splendid book. If only more historians wrote as vigorously, vividly and imaginatively as Ronald Hutton, specialised history might recover some of its appeal to a wider public. Hutton's skilful use of well-selected illustrative detail shows a complete mastery of the sources...He is disarmingly unengaged in current academic-ideological squabbles. His conclusions are tentative, undogmatic, open-minded, but clearly stated. A special virtue is the attention which his book pays to Scotland and Ireland...Dr Hutton finds new angles, neglected pieces of evidence...It is nice to think that so enjoyable a book will become the standard authority on its subject.' Christopher Hill, Guardian