Royal Survivor The Life of Charles II Author:Stephen Coote Royal Survivor is an important new biography of Charles II, one of Britain's most glamorous kings. In a sweeping narrative that takes the reader from palaces and battlefields through exile, bitterness, and triumph, Stephen Coote strips away the sentiment that has clouded Charles's merry monarch image revealing him to have been an altogeth... more »er more brave and dangerous mana gambler, a fixer, a survivor. Depicting the twists and turns of Restoration public life, the horror of the Plague, the tragedy of the Fire of London and the allure of Charles's many mistresses (including the lustful Lady Castlemaine and the gloriously streetwise Nell Gwynn), Royal Survivor profiles an extraordinarily shrewd man who outlasted his enemies to save the monarchy, even as forces were forming that would make England a democracy.« less