Killers of the King cover art

Killers of the King

The Men Who Dared to Execute Charles I

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 Months Free + £10 Audible voucher

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.
More purchase options

Killers of the King

By: Charles Spencer
Narrated by: Richard Trinder
Get this deal

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £14.80

Buy Now for £14.80

Bloomsbury presents Killers of the King by Charles Spencer, read by Richard Trinder.

Charles Spencer tells the shocking stories and fascinating fates of the men who signed Charles I’s death warrant in this Sunday Times bestseller

'Seamless, pacy and riveting ... exceptional' ALISON WEIR
'The virtues of a thriller and of scholarship are potently combined' TOM HOLLAND
'Outstanding: a thrilling tale of retribution and bloody sacrifice' JESSIE CHILDS
__________________
January, 1649. After seven years of fighting in the bloodiest war in Britain’s history, Parliament faced a problem: what to do with a defeated king, a king who refused to surrender?

Parliamentarians resolved to do the unthinkable, to disregard the Divine Right of Kings and hold Charles I to account for the appalling suffering and slaughter endured by his people. On an icy winter’s day on a scaffold outside Whitehall, the King of England was executed.

When the dead king’s son, Charles II, was restored to the throne, he set about enacting a deadly wave of retribution against all those – the lawyers, the judges, the officers on the scaffold – responsible for his father’s death.

Bestselling historian Charles Spencer explores this violent clash of ideals through the individuals whose fates were determined by that one, momentous decision. A powerful tale of revenge from the dark heart of royal history and a fascinating insight into the dangers of political and religious allegiance in Stuart England, these are the shocking stories of the men who dared to kill a king.©2014 Charles Spencer (P)2021 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC 17th Century Europe Great Britain Modern Politics & Activism Royalty England War Revenge
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

Critic reviews

Beautifully written and meticulously researched
History with the pace of a thriller ... I learned much I never knew (Julian Fellowes)
Brilliant ... A thrilling tale of regicide and revenge
Very good … Dense and well-researched … Some of the stories are extraordinary … Spine-tingling detail
A pacy, well-researched and beautifully written story of intrigue, betrayal and Realpolitik, but above all cold-blooded institutionalized revenge on a massive international scale
Accomplished and gruesome, this masterful account of the fate of the regicides breaks all barriers in weaving the lives – and the grim fates – of many into a seamless, pacy and riveting read, underpinned by the depth of scholarship for which Charles Spencer is renowned. An exceptional and highly original history book that sheds new light on one of England’s bloodiest episodes
Imagine The Odessa File re-written by Christopher Hill, and you will have some idea of the pleasure to be had in reading Killers of the King. The virtues of a thriller and of scholarship are potently combined
Outstanding: a thrilling tale of retribution and bloody sacrifice, unflinching idealism and craven miscreancy. In fluent, measured, often witty prose, Killers of the King brilliantly evokes that febrile time when the hunters became the hunted and vengeance was avenged. Like all the best history books, it succeeds not only in telling a remarkable story, but also in illuminating the entire age
All stars
Most relevant
As someone who is doing my family history it is wise I have discovered to learn of what my ancestors did at the time. I already purchased a book of Earl Spencer's, and found this not just a delight to listen to but learn things of the period I had not learned before.

Really Interesting Listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story gives a full account from the Civil War through King Charles I’s flight around the country, to his trial and then on to the hunt for the regicides ten or so years later. It is beautifully written and read, and absolutely gripping. Thank you Charles Spencer for a very fulfilling, if somewhat terrifying, experience.

A fabulous read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Like many I came to this from Robert Harris’s ‘Act of Oblivion’. While this book does what it says on the cover and has a lot of detail, it doesn’t quite capture the tension and excitement of such a dramatic period of history.

Dramatic story drily told

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A fascinating episode in English history laid out in intense, academic detail. A fairly dry narration but the juice is in the story. The betrayal of trust of those who gave themselves up for the King's 'mercy', the vivid descriptions of gory executions, the tense manhunt - I found this a fascinating listen and only nodded off a couple of times.

King Killers Hounded

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Good support to act of oblivion by Robert Harris. Narrator sounds a bit robotic but can cope with it

Great topic. Well told

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews