Hello Hivers and Book Clubbers,
Let's do some more reviewing. I feel like I'm starting to get into the groove of writing again. I notice while reading that I'm thinking about what motifs and points I could write about for an eventual review. The book I'm reviewing today is fully titled 'The Last Royal Rebel; The Life and Death of James, Duke of Monmouth', written in 2017 by Anna Keay.
The book is in essence a biography, written in the style of a historical narrative. Sourced pretty widely, it doesn't read like an academic work would. It sidesteps from the life of Monmouth to talk about the necessary background to understand the story. All in all, it stays just under 400 pages, making it a mid-sized read. Let's get into it.
Background and Exile
The 17th century in England was very eventful. At the start of it, Elisabeth I died childless, and so the Tudor dynasty died with her. In her place came her nephew, king James VI Stuart of Scotland, who would become king James I of England as well. Thus marking the beginning of the process that would mean the unification of Scotland and England as the United Kingdom.
Religion was the cause of most events in England in the 16th and 17th century. The rise of Anglicanism led to a unique form of Protestantism being practised in England, which had numerous dissidents. On the right, there was the old religion; Catholicism. After the short reign of Mary I (1553-1558), dubbed 'Bloody Mary' for the frequent burning of Protestants, it entered a steady decline in numbers and influence. Catholics also weren't allowed to enter high positions in the government.
On the left side, there was Puritanism; a form of Protestantism closely related to Calvinism, it wanted a more rigorous reformation than Anglicanism had allowed. Their rise in numbers and influence in Parliament came to a zenith during the Commonwealth, i.e. England as a Republic. The Puritans, led by Oliver Cromwell, would lead the country from 1649 to 1660, starting this period off by executing the then-current king, Charles I.
It is in this context that Monmouth's father's life starts in the book; a royal exile, mostly staying with relatives in France or the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, a very pretty noblewoman caught his eye. From this affair, it wasn't more than that, was born James, the first son to the exile king.
A Royal Bastard
James, however, was not legitimate in any way; Charles II was already married. But this marriage had produced no sons, only daughters. And this caused friction in a day and age where it was preferred for men to inherit. Though English law did allow for women to inherit; his daughters Mary and Anne were in the line of succession.
But heir to what? James grew up with his mother, which was a very haphazard life. One moment quite well-off, and the other dirt-poor, James's childhood had very little stability within it. His mother's reputation as the late-medieval equivalent of a slut did not help matters.
She refused to let go of James either, and never let him out of her sight. She understood his value as the only son of the exile king, and he understood it too. When James was 8 years old, he was basically kidnapped by his father, to be raised away from his mother.
Return to England
A few years later, at age 11, the English Protectorate would implode with the death of Oliver Cromwell. Soon, an invitation came from England for Charles to return as Charles II to his home. And James went with him. And thus started a tension that would last throughout his life. Here was the king's only son, prominently by his side. Most bastards were shoved away from Court in favour of legitimate children, but James was not.
He would marry into more wealth (kings of England were not nearly as rich as their French counterparts) by marrying a Scottish heiress at a young age. Also, the title of Duke of Monmouth was soon created for him. This was remarkable; there were only seven dukes in England, thus making him a very high-ranking noble. Add to that the wealth of the riches heiress in Scotland, and people saw his star rise with the years.
A return to Catholicism?
The tension was mostly their for a simple reason; the heir to the throne, Charles II's brother James, was a Catholic. If there were no sons in the future, this meant that the Church of England would be led by a Roman Catholic. The implications were huge, and fear was widespread: would this mean a forcible re-conversion of England, with all the terror that was remembered from the reign of Mary I?
The solution, many thought, was walking around at court; the Duke of Monmouth was a Protestant. In his thirties, he was well liked, had some military experience, and was the king's natural son. Several times there were calls to legitimize him, and thus make him heir. Seveal times, Parliament tried to exclude James from the succession. It all did not work out, and when Charles II died in his fifties, James II became king.
Invasion
The other James decided to invade England from his then-exile in the Netherlands. He made for England under the understanding that there would be a similar rising in Scotland by one of his co-plotters. This did not materialise. He would sail for England in only 3 ships, with only 83 men.
But his popularity at home meant his army had soon grown to several thousand. Yet he would face the English Royal army, which he had trained himself for several years. This was a small, but professional force, while James's force was almost entery made up of conscripts.
One large battle in 1685 would mean the end of James, duke of Monmouth, after several days of flight he was captured, brought to London, and executed.
Irony would have it that another invasion, four years later, would work out. William III of the Netherlands would invade in 1689 with his wife, Mary (daughter of Charles II) to claim the throne, and would succeed in doing so. James II was unpopular, but the dam had not burst in 1685, when Monmouth made his bid for kingship.
Conclusion
I've left a lot of details out; the book goes into Monmouth's lifestile, his friends and enemies at court, and delves into the plots and battles that made up his rebellion. The pace of the book is excellent, and unless you're an expert on the subject matter, you'll find many thing you didn't know yet.
I might pick up another book by Keay in the future, based on how much I enjoyed this one. I bought this book off of Amazon, in the English language, so I suppose it's widely available in many countries. I'll be back with more reviews in the future. See you then,
-Pieter Nijmeijer
(Top image; self-made photo of book cover)