Simon Parke's well-written and absorbing story of [King Charles I's] final years dramatises the political chicanery,
the shifting loyalties and an unexpected love story before his execution in 1649. -- Elizabeth Buchan * Daily Mail * A terrific book, smart and very readable * Karl French, writer and editor * An extraordinary story has found an extraordinary storyteller. The truth of Charles I and his mistress-spy Jane Whorwood was hushed up and overlooked for centuries, but Simon Parke opens up the story so vividly that you are not only in the room, but in the heads and hearts of the characters. A wonderful, compelling read. -- Simon Jenkins, founder and editor of Ship of Fools You've really gripped my imagination, Simon. So firmly I could get obsessive. I've got Mr and Mrs Cromwell living in my head, and I want to dive down the rabbit burrow of every historical detail to know more! Some of the writing is the best you've ever done. Vivid, immediate, deft. Funny, too. * Paul Carter, deputy editor of the Daily Mail * . . . conjuring an atmosphere or a moment in a single brief line, a single piece of dialogue - the second half of the book particularly draws the reader in and builds very satisfyingly. I'm in awe of the research which seems impeccable. * Mike Jones, former publishing director at Simon & Schuster and Profile books * Parke's book retells and reimagines this historical turning-point to lively effect. * Church Times * well-written and absorbing * The Daily Mail *