Considering myself something of a history buff, I was intrigued to see that a fellow-member of the IAWE (Israel Association of Writers in English) has written a historical novel about a period of English history of which I am relatively ignorant. I did A-level History at school, but our syllabus focused mainly on the Tudors and very little attention was paid to any other period. In addition, I felt that as well as absorbing interesting information, I would also be supporting a colleague in the ranks of writers who, like myself, falls into the neglected category of writers in a language that is not that of the society they live in, constituting a unique cadre of  what could be termed ‘fish out of water.’ So I bought the ebook version of the book and embarked on reading it on my iphone.

D.Lawrence-Young starts the book by introducing us to the first-person narrator, a young man who is affiliated with the Royalist cause at a time in the seventeenth century when England is in the throes of civil war between the anti-monarchist ‘Roundheads,’ led by Oliver Cromwell, and the citizens who are loyal to the monarch, King Charles, despite his faults and his failed attempts to overrule parliament. This has led to pitched battles between the two camps, in one of which our protagonist, Robert Grimston, participates as a cavalryman,Ultimately, Cromwell’s forces prevail, King Charles is captured, brought to London and put on trial.

We are given a vivid account of the trial, which takes place in the historic Westminster Hall, and concludes with the conviction of the king, who is sentenced to be executed. The account of what was said by the king and his accusers is presumably based on historical records, and it is interesting to see how the trial was conducted and the way the various individuals behaved. The young narrator was present throughout the trial, and gives an eyewitness account of the king’s execution by being beheaded.

Oliver Cromwell ruled England as ‘Lord Protector’ for five years before dying of natural causes in 1658. During this time strict rules were imposed banning festivities of any kind, including traditional celebrations of feasts, and even Christmas. The performance of plays was forbidden, and no colourful clothes could be worn. The natural exuberance of the Englisg people was suppressed, and a general atmosphere of religiously-inspired Puritanical gloom prevailed.

After Cromwell’s death it became apparent that there was no successor to the post of Lord Protector, and our narrator describes how he was sent to the continent to ascertain whether King Charles’ eldest son, Prince Charles, intended to return to England and reclaim the throne. This is in fact what happened, and in 1660 amid general rejoicing the new king was enthroned as Charles ll, in what was known as the Restoration.

Almost immediately the new king set out to wreak revenge on those who had been involved in the capture, trial and execution of his father, and Robert Brimston describes the part he plays in this. Accompanied by a friend and two or three soldiers, he sails to the Continent in order to capture the individuals who had been involved in the overthrow of the monarchy and bring them to England to stand trial. Over the course pf several years he describes some of those missions, as well as the subsequent trial and execution of the regicides. His graphic account of some of the executions is hair-raising in its detail, since King Charles ll’s thirst for revenge involved the gruesome execution process by which the individual was hanged, drawn and quartered. It was only after several such executions that this was commuted to death by hanging. Over sixty individuals were tried and executed as regicides.

The book provides a fascinating account of life in seventeenth-century England, with all its vicissitudes, as well as giviing an interesting insight into the psychology of some of the individuals concerned. The well-written narrative flows easily despite a few typos, and I finished the book feeling that I had benefited from D.Lawrence-Young’s extensive research into the subject.

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