"Tim Harris's major new book is the first in a generation to look afresh at one of the most dramatic periods in British history. Far from being the 'merry monarch' of legend, Charles II is shown to be a cynical, brutal ruler, one of the very few truly repressive British kings. His intolerance was fuelled both by his precarious position and by the contradictions in ruling three countries with hugely different religious and social make-ups. Restoration makes vivid this whole era of 'Popish plots', bubonic plague, the reckless, libertine court and the Fire of London, which saw the birth of popular politics, 'Tories' and 'Whigs', riots, petitions, seditious rumour and mass demonstrations. The reign became one of the great periods of English invective, and Tim Harris takes full advantage of this, using contemporary pamphlets, speeches and sermons to convey the passions both of the elite and of ordinary people."--BOOK JACKET.