''Royal Escape'' is a 1938

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

by English author

Georgette Heyer Georgette Heyer (; 16 August 1902 – 4 July 1974) was an English novelist and short-story writer, in both the Regency romance and detective fiction genres. Her writing career began in 1921, when she turned a story conceived for her ail ...

about the

escape of Charles II After the final defeat of the Cavalier, Royalists in the English Civil War against Oliver Cromwell, Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651, the future Charles II of England (already by that time King of ...

. It is set in 1651 during the

English Commonwealth The Commonwealth of England was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when Kingdom of England, England and Wales, later along with Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, were governed as a republi ...

Plot summary

Two years after the execution of his father (Charles I) 21-year-old Charles II and his men fail miserably to free his kingdom from the tyrannical rule of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

at the

Battle of Worcester The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1642 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell def ...

. The King would rather die trying to restore the monarchy than sit by and watch the power of the English Commonwealth grow under its corrupt leaders. He decides to disguise himself as a peasant; at his first hiding-place at Boscobel, an estate wherein lived five catholic brothers called Pendrell, the King is dressed in a coarse noggen shirt, with breeches of coarse green cloth and a doeskin leather doublet. Charles is given a pair of patched stockings and a long, white, greasy steeple-crowned hat to wear, and his hair is cut to look like a peasant's, short on top but long at the sides. The Pendrells quickly teach Charles how to speak with a local accent and how to walk like a labourer. The novel concerns his daring trek, partly on foot, from

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

to Shoreham, whence he sails to France to wait for the right time to return to England and claim his kingdom.

References

1938 British novels Novels by Georgette Heyer Historical novels Fiction set in 1651 Novels set in the 17th century Heinemann (publisher) books Novels set in Worcestershire Novels set in Shropshire Cultural depictions of Charles II of England {{1930s-romance-novel-stub