Strafford

Thomas Wentworth (1593-1641), an obscure Yorkshire Squire, rose to be Charles 1's most influential Minister. Volume 1 tells the true story of his childhood, his youth and education. It moves on to his first marriage to Margaret Clifford, his entry into politics, and his opposition to the King's policies. After Margaret's childless death from severe illness, he marries a second and third time. Through all of that his exciting career advances until he is taken into government by the King. He is raised to the peerage, first as a Baron, then as a Viscount. His wives are very important characters.

This is the autobiography of a complex, talented man, obsessed with doing the right thing, yet occasionally led astray by his ambition. The characters are real people: Charles, Buckingham, Archbishop Laud, and Pym. It is as accurate as a novel can be, based on enormous factual research, climaxing with one of the most appalling and gripping miscarriages of justice in English history.