THE CHARACTERS

Fact or Fiction?

Actually, my story is a bit of both, and this is reflected in my choice of characters. As the plot develops, we see their lives become entwined, but is this by chance or by design?

RICHARD LOVELACE

Richard Lovelace, 1618 - 1657, was a Cavalier poet who sacrificed all that he owned to follow the Royalist cause. He lived in one of the most turbulent times in our history and, because of this little is known about the details of his life. However, it is clear that in his early life, he excelled in everything he turned his hand to: He was an excellent scholar, attending Charterhouse School before moving on to Oxford and Cambridge; he distinguished himself as a soldier, serving Charles I in the First and Second Scottish Expeditions; he achieved some eminence as a poet and was a popular courtier.

If you have never heard his name before, you are probably familiar with one of his works. The final verse of 'To Althea from Prison' captures his sense of duty to his king, while deftly wrapping it inside a love poem:

'Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage:
Minds innocent and quiet take
That for an hermitage.
If I have freedom in my love,
And in my soul am free,
Angels alone, that soar above,
Enjoy such liberty.'

Imprisoned for his beliefs, in 1649 Lovelace was released into a Puritan world run by Cromwell and his generals. The king for whom he had fought so valiantly had been executed and the Royalist cause lay in tatters. Little is known of the last decade of his life, which has enabled me to speculate on what he might have done to support the exiled king and work towards his restoration.

The final months of his life form the starting point for my story.

SIR JOHN THURLOE

Sir John Thurloe (1616 -1668), was a lawyer by profession, rising to become Secretary of State under Oliver Cromwell.

In 1653 he became head of intelligence and developed a widespread network of spies and code breakers, at home and abroad. During his time in office, his department broke the Sealed Knot, an underground movement of Royalists who were plotting to restore the Monarchy. He also uncovered various other plots against the Protectorate.

In 1655 Thurloe was appointed, Postmaster General, allowing his spies were able to intercept mail. He was an extremely effective spymaster, successfully exposing Edward Sexby's 1657 plot to assassinate Cromwell and also preventing the assassination of Cromwell by Miles Sindercombe and his group.

In Chariot of the Sun, his instinct tells him that an unlikely group of acquaintances are somehow linked.

DOCTOR GEORGE BATE

George Bate (1608–1668) was an English court physician.

Bate graduated with an M.D. from St Edmund Hall, Oxford in 1637. He learnt to weather the political storms of the era with great skill: he treated Charles I in Oxford, became chief physician to Oliver Cromwell and his family, whilst he was general, and afterwards when protector, He was physician to Oliver Cromwell and his family, physician to Charles II, and one of the founding Fellows of the Royal Society. He published several medical books and political articles.

Often the subject of conspiracy theories, there is no proof that he hastened Cromwell's death, but ...

LUCY SACHEVERALL

Little is known about the life of Lucy Sacheverall, and so she falls between reality and imagination. It is believed that she was the 'Lucasta' of Richard Lovelace's poems, having been betrothed to him, while he was fighting for the Royalist cause. However, when she was wrongly informed that he had been killed at Dunkirk in 1646, she married someone else.

It was rumoured that Lovelace called her lux casta, which means, 'pure light', and that the following poem was dedicated to her.

To Lucasta, Going to the Wars

Tell me not (Sweet) I am unkind,

That from the nunnery

Of thy chaste breast and quiet mind

To war and arms I fly.

True, a new mistress now I chase,

The first foe in the field;

And with a stronger faith embrace

A sword, a horse, a shield.

Yet this inconstancy is such

As you too shall adore;

I could not love thee (Dear) so much,

Lov’d I not Honour more.

In Chariot of the Sun, we meet an older Lucy, long married to a country gentleman. Her life is thrown into turmoil by an encounter with someone from her past, and her determination to right a wrong becomes one of the central themes of the story.

SIR GILES MORETON

Giles is a fictional character. A wealthy landowner, he has benefited from being a supporter of Parliament during the English Civil War (1641–1652). His land adjoins that of Lucy and her husband, Sir Matthew Challoner. Although the two men hold different political views, they have a mutual respect for each other and work together to improve.

He is the hero of the piece ... or is he?

SIR MATTHEW CHALLONER

Matthew supported Charles I and the Royalist cause, and was subsequently punished, when heavy fines were imposed following Cromwell's victory. An old friend of her father's, he married Lucy after she received news of Lovelace's death. They live in reduced circumstances, supported by a handful of loyal servants and their good neighbour, Sir Giles Moreton.