In a sweeping narrative that takes the reader from palaces and battlefields through exile, bitterness, triumph and deceit, acclaimed biographer Stephen Coote strips away the varnish of sentiment that for so long has clouded the image of the 'merry monarch'. He reveals Charles as an altogether more fascinating, brave and dangerous man - a gambler, a fixer, a survivor. Stephen Coote depicts the twists and turns of Restoration public life and weaves these together with the major events of the day including the Plague and the Fire of London. We also are taken behind of scenes of Charles's private life and meet the many mistresses: the lustful and ambitious Lady Castlemaine, the beautiful but rapacious Lady Portsmouth, the gloriously streetwise Nell Gwyn, the exotic Hortense Mancini and many others. In his detailed and fascinating overview of the time, Stephen Coote offers a vivid account of the events that led to the Restoration and which schooled Charles in the ways of the world and made his reign unforgettable.