Hilaire Belloc 
Charles II 
The Last Rally

In The Last Rally, Belloc narrates with clarity and vigor a central episode in the decline of the English Monarchy. Restored to the throne following the interlude of Cromwell’s ‘Commonwealth, ‘ Charles II devoted his life as King of England to maintaining the integrity of the throne against all the forces arrayed against it: the power of the great landowners who worked through the Parliament; the influence of the Lawyers’ Guild; and the irresistible mercantile and financial strength of the city of London. The story that Belloc brings to life is thus one of survival: the story of a ship of state brought ‘through peril and storm under a great captain.’ It is also the story of manhood and determination in the face of overwhelming odds; as such it is a story that Hilaire Belloc was eminently qualified to write.