Books: Hey! For Charles

MERRY MONARCH: THE LIFE AND LIKENESS OF CHARLES II (274 pp.)—Hesketh Pearson—Harper ($5).

On the night of Nov. 4, 1677, a few hours after he had, for certain umbrous reasons of state, brought about a marriage between William of Orange and the Duke of York's daughter, Charles II of England proceeded to the newlyweds' suite, threw back the curtains of their bed and roared patriotic encouragement: "Now nephew. Hey! St. George for England." This is the sort of behavior that caused Charles to be misunderstood by many of his contemporaries and a sizable share...