Where the King Hides in a Tree

Boscobel, or the Royal Oak by William Harrison Ainsworth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I like this a lot more than the average reader. That's okay.

I found it really interesting. It's the story of Charles II, trying to retake the throne from Oliver Cromwell after they put his father to death. The first section of the book deals with the loyalists' preparations for a battle at Worcester and the subsequent loss to the "roundheads" of Cromwell. It's well done, full of spies and skirmishes and stratagems, individual heroism and unexpected reversals. Cromwell, in this part, is as important a character and as interesting a character as Charles.

The rest of the book deals with Charles trying to escape after the loss. It's very complete, with lots of heroes. (While I'm reading, I'm rooting for Charles and his loyal supporters. I don't actually care about the monarchy, then or now, but in the books they're the good guys for sure.) There are so many close escapes, so many moments when the troops searching for him almost find him. He goes from house to house, from hidden room to hidden room to hidden cellar, from one woods to another, two or three days here, an hour there. It's pretty exciting, in its way. It's the biggest game of hide and seek I've ever heard of, and Charles won.

He almost takes ship a couple times but can't quite make it work. He pulls off a disguise now and then, and other times it fails him, and he has to fly again. Of course, in real life, he went to all these places, including the huge oak tree that he famously hid in, and eventually got help to escape to France before being ridden down.

I liked it. I thought it was fun, a good book for those who like this sort of romance (action adventure romance, not HEA kissing romance), though it might not work for everyone. It has a lot in common with romances that Dumas wrote, with constant plans and schemes and fleeing on horses and the occasional sword fight, so it might work for some of his fans. (Like me.) It's also suitable for those who like complete descriptions of manor houses and moors and harbors and villages dating back to the 17th century. Ainsworth is precise about details and doesn't stint on that stuff.

This was first published in 1872. I think this edition I have is from 1899. Old enough, anyway, that someone sold it at a yard sale for 19¢. :)

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