The diversity illusion - Ed West

Charles II's ascent to the throne came at a time of national turbulence: his father had been beheaded, and rival Cromwell threatened his right to rein. England was now a puritanical island, isolated in a sea of Catholic countries. But Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of St. Albans, was there to keep the royal family together. The King's Henchman tells for the first time the story of how this Stuart spy-master - and lover of Charles I's Queen - made sure that Charles II did not suffer the grim fate of his father. His skilful, but secretive, ways of manipulating government were also vital during the Civil War and finally in ensuring the restoration of the Stuart dynasty to the throne. Against this historical backdrop is also the birth of the London that we know today. Jermyn developed the London West End which became the model for the whole of London after the Great Fire. Like Christopher Wren, he was a Freemason and used his contacts not only to spy but also to rebuild London with its characteristic uniform squares and wide streets; doing away with the Medieval free for all that existed before.