The Last Royal Rebel

In Anna Keay’s fine biography, this tragic finale is rendered still more bitter by her unfolding of Monmouth’s past career, his ever-changing hopes and fears … Keay provides a fascinating portrait of the slippery, charismatic Charles II, and of his genuine love for his son … The brilliance of Keay’s account lies in her ability to convey the subtle intricacies of diplomacy and royal ambition … Yet, she also keeps a clear focus on Monmouth’s private story ... Keay tells the story with heart-breaking crispness -- Jenny Uglow * Guardian *
Brilliant and revelatory ... Anna Keay has written a superb biography, which paints a vivid picture of the times and of her subject. She has an instinctive feel for character and place, and combines elegant prose with a novelistic gift for narrative. Above all, she has rescued this much-traduced and forgotten royal rebel from the backwaters and set him once more at the centre of one of Britain’s great historical whirlpools * Daily Telegraph *
Substantial ... The strength of this admirable biography is that it makes the reader consider Monmouth from Monmouth’s point of view, without the benefit of hindsight ... Here is Monmouth, and here is his world. It is a considerable achievement -- Andrew Taylor * The Times *
A beautifully written book, with a superb feel for 17th century society and international intrigue as well as a masterful ability to depict the lived reality of Stuart London, Flanders and Paris. Anna Keay has provided not just a great life of a long forgotten royal rebel and revived his place in popular politics, but also a compelling account of British history during one of its most dangerous and tumultuous eras -- Tristram Hunt
Written with the flair of a novelist and the punctilious skill of a forensic historian, this book tells one of the most riveting chapters of Stuart history … It is the best royal biography I have read in years, and it deeply enhanced my knowledge of the seventeenth century -- A. N. Wilson
Anna Keay's fascinating, compelling, outrageous and ultimately tragic The Last Royal Rebel delivers, with scholarly authority, political acumen, exciting narrative and a worldly, playful eye for drama, character and detail a vivid political–personal portrait of the hitherto-neglected Monmouth but also a shrewd study of Charles II, his dangerous, seductive, amoral court and Restoration England – and of a golden youth doomed -- Simon Sebag Montefiore
Anna Keay has effectively turned [the] old-fashioned, censorious judgment of Monmouth on its head by making him the hero of his own story. It is a bold approach, and this vividly told story will remain in the reader’s memory long after the last page of Keay’s book has been turned. No one can deny that Monmouth’s life was anything other than dramatic … Keay’s real achievement in this book is not so much a re-evaluation of Monmouth himself, though that may be well overdue, but her deft analysis of 17th-century personalities and politics … Keay has brought a period almost lost to popular history compellingly alive * Literary Review *
‘Admirable ... Keay is a winning guide to the man and the period; this is an account not just of James but of one of the most interesting and fruitful periods of English history ... And she does it without jargon, making the personal as political as it in fact was ... She brings James, Duke of Monmouth, back to life * Evening Standard *
Returns this glamorous rebel to life. One contemporary described him as someone who lived ‘in a mad ramble after pleasure’, and Keay colourfully recreates that mad ramble: womanising, dangerous sports and princely extravagance. The writing is lively and fast-paced … A vivid, easy read … Tragedy lends Monmouth’s story piquancy. Keay makes the most of his doomed heroism * Mail on Sunday *
Keay’s study of Monmouth, the first for many years, is meticulous in its attention to scholarly detail and invaluably fills a gap in the historiography. But what distinguishes her as as biographer is her unflagging appetite for the drama and poignancy of the story, and her skill and fluency in portraying it. I can’t remember the last time I read a historical biography that so vividly evokes the atmosphere of another age, whether it be the Caroline palaces of the era or the flat, watery darkness of the battlefield at Sedgemoor * Spectator *
Powerful ... [A] penetrating and superbly researched biography * Country Life *
Fans of Hilary Mantel are bound to enjoy this new biography of a figure from a fascinating period. Keay provides a lively account of the licentious Restoration court … Ambitious and scholarly … Enjoyable, and should do for the Stuarts what Mantel has done for the Tudors * The Lady *
Splendid … Plotted like a novel, full of riveting detail, The Last Royal Rebel offers a vivid portrayal of politics in the dynastic age, when bloodlines ruled and accidents of nature swayed the fate of nations * Wall Street Journal *
Grounded in mastery of a formidable archival record … Keay displays a gift for eye catching detail, complemented by knowledgeable explanations … Her enthusiasm is infectious * Times Literary Supplement *
Viscerally compelling ... The Last Royal Rebel is the very best sort of historical work. It is based on the meticulous use of an eclectic array of primary sources, and represents substantial painstaking and well-documented research. The action, intrigue, romance, and suspense drive the reader relentlessly toward the stirring conclusion * Royal Studies Journal *