book cover of The Blind Fugitive
 

The Blind Fugitive

(2024)
A novel by

 
 
'A lyrically-written, diamond-sharp depiction of the Restoration. With Charles II and John Milton as her protagonists, Maxwell brings the era to life with regality and poetry.' Steven Veerapen

London, 1660.

After eleven years of Cromwellian rule, rumours circulate that the Stuart monarchy will soon be restored. Yet John Milton, the republican Secretary for Foreign Tongues, remains unconvinced.

Before long, the authorities begin a manhunt for the killers of King Charles I. The men involved in his trial now face a reckoning themselves.

Parliament has control of who is on the death list – and who will suffer lesser penalties. But Parliament cannot decide.

Should Milton’s authorship of The Image Breaker, a defence of regicide, bring him to the gallows?

Sir William Davenant, the bastard son of Shakespeare, is anxious to save Milton, the father of three motherless girls. Unfortunately, Davenant’s rescue plot seems as improbable as one of his plays. How can a blind man go on the run?

Hiding from a brutal justice, Milton unexpectedly finds love again.

Yet who can you trust when you have been betrayed before?

As the political tensions rise, the new King Charles II appears most interested in fashioning his own legend. So when a surprising offer of patronage is made to Milton, he must decide his fate. But at what cost?

Julie Maxwell’s fiction has won numerous accolades including the Betty Trask Award. For many years she taught Milton at Oxford.
The Blind Fugitive, first published 350 years after the death of John Milton, is the sequel to The Image of the King.

Praise for Julie Maxwell:

'An intricately organised, subtly ironic perspective on a tumultuous historical period.' Craig Raine

‘The Image of the King is a thrilling tale of the Civil Wars' battle for hearts and minds. Through the eyes of King Charles I and the failing eyesight of John Milton, we watch politics and propaganda slide out of control until lives and afterlives lie on the line. Impeccably researched and engagingly told, The Image of the King will entertain and educate in equal measure.’ Miranda Malins, author of The Rebel Daughter




Genre: Historical

Used availability for Julie Maxwell's The Blind Fugitive


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