Among the noted figures of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries featured in this volume are Guy Fawkes, the Yorkshire Protestant who joined the Spanish Army and converted to Catholicism, later to return to become the prime mover in the Gunpowder Plot. Also making an appearance is Nell Gwynne, the former orange seller who became a favored mistress of Charles II; and Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector of England and nemesis of the monarchy.