1. Introducing the 1630s: questions of parliaments, peace and pressure points - Julie Sanders and Ian Atherton2. Force, love and authority in Caroline political culture - Malcolm Smuts3. The image of Charles I as a Roman emperor - John Peacock4. ‘From his Matie to me with his awin hand’: the King’s correspondence during the period of personal rule - Sarah Poynting5. Henrietta Maria in the 1630s: perspectives on the role of consort queens in ancien regime courts - Caroline Hibbard6. ‘The faction of the flesh’: orientalism and the Caroline masque - James Knowles7. Buried alive: Thomas May’s 1631 - Antigone Karen Britland8. Placing Caroline politics on the professional comic stage - Matthew Steggle9. Stigmatizing Prynne: seditious libel, political satire and the construction of opposition - Andrew McRae10. Coteries, complications and the question of female agency - Jerome de GrootIndex

This is an exciting collection of essays on the rule of Charles I at a time of fundamental importance to English history. This book combines the work of historians with academics from literary studies to provide an interdisciplinary study of the culture and political life of the decade. The chapters focus on issues regarding politics, religion, the monarchy and culture, as well as literature and art history. Essays examine everything from the King’s correspondence, to the role of consort queens at court and opposition to the King in libel, satire and on the stage.Many historians assert that it was Charles's inept and dangerous policy of ‘personal rule’ which was responsible for putting the country on the road to civil war. This book will be invaluable for students and lecturers seeking to better understand the causes of the conflict.