How the impossible was achieved

DEFYING the New Model Army's shot and shell, Charles Stuart rode up and down the Royalist ranks, encouraging his soldiers.

On a line of attack that stretched from where Worcester's Bath Road and Red Hill suburbs now stand, the son of the executed king fearlessly and recklessly placed himself in great peril as his followers played their one remaining card left in the strategic pack.

But the Battle of Worcester was already a foregone conclusion.

Victory would elude the young prince that day - and his real time of trial was about to begin.

From the Faithful City to Kidderminster, Stourbridge and Boscobel, one of the most famous flights in history was about to unfold. It would be an odyssey of unremitting danger and drama.

The roads were still blocked with the fleeing Scots and Parliamentary troops mustered in every town square and village green.

Betrayal was an ever-present danger, yet right from the start of his career as a fugitive, his fortunes depended on travelling light.

And that meant with as few companions as possible

Jane Lane, the prince's loyal servant springs from these pages as a romantic, yet resourceful figure. And it was ultimately the selfless loyalty to the Royalist cause by a small number of individuals that allowed the hunted royal to escape.

Somehow, the future king would arrive at Brighton and make his escape to France. The miracle had been performed and the course of history changed.

This 17th Century detective story admirably explains how the impossible was achieved. But not quite 10-out-of-10, though. Mr Ollard really must learn how to spell "Sidbury".

Ah, well. C'est le guerre.

John Phillpott.