Cavalier and King of Men

James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby, was a pivotal figure in the Civil War in Lancashire, between 1642-51, and in governance of North-West of England across a quarter of a Century. As Lord of the Isle of Man, he enjoyed quasi-royal powers and fostered a court culture on the island which expressed itself through poetry, plays, masques and conspicuous display.

A religious visionary and man of letters, he was a supremely gifted peace time administrator who was suddenly thrown into the maelstrom of a civil war for which he was neither prepared nor militarily suited. He was a bright and reflexive courtier, conscious of the need for compromise, who was destroyed through his role in the massacre of Bolton, in 1644, and by the mistrust and ingratitude of successive Stuart monarchs.

Triumphing at the battles of Warrington, he tasted bitter defeat at Sabden Brook and Wigan Lane. Yet he, more than perhaps anyone, was saviour of the Royalist cause after the Battle of Worcester, when he spirited the fugitive King Charles II to Boscobel Hall. Incredibly, 'the Great Stanley' has had no biographer until now. This book reveals him in his glory and his tragedy as Cavalier and Lord of Man.

About the Author

John Callow has written widely on the culture, warfare and politics of the Seventeenth Century, and on the history of the Isle of Man. His books include: Witchcraft & Magic in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Europe (co-authored with Geoffrey Scarre); James II - King in Exile; and Embracing the Darkness - a Cultural History of Witchcraft. His account of the Isle of Man in the Civil War appeared in England's Fortress: New Perspectives on Thomas, 3rd Lord Fairfax. He is currently a Visiting Tutor at the University of Suffolk.

7 photographs, 13 illustrations, 4 maps