David Gelber is gripped by this sympathetic, thought-provoking account of Charles I’s life
WHEN the executioner’s axe fell upon the neck of Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1587, it was an event without example in British history. Some 60 years later, Mary’s grandson Charles I suffered the same terrible end. This sympathetic new biography of Charles begins by pointing to this sorry parallel. Mary’s execution breached a taboo—thereafter, the sovereign’s person would never again be sacrosanct.
Leanda de Lisle presents Charles I’s life as a grand tragedy. The heavy responsibilities of kingship fell upon him unexpectedly. The death in 1612 of his elder brother, Henry, propelled him into a position for which he was not prepared. Their father, James I, spared nothing in giving Henry an education worthy of the heir to the English throne, but at the cost of neglecting the spare.
Charles’s notions of kingship were not, the author makes clear, formed in the schoolroom, but came instead from more dangerous sources. One was the teaching of High Anglicans, who emphasised the divine nature of kingship. She points to a stained-glass window at Lincoln College, Oxford, depicting Christ with the face of Charles, as a typical product of this thinking. This kind of idolatry was bound to enrage Puritans.
Denne historien er fra January 24, 2018-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra January 24, 2018-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
