William Cavendish courageous cultured & passionate about women embodies the popular image of a cavalier. Famously defeated at the Battle of Marston Moor in 1644 he went into a long & miserable continental exile before returning to England in triumph on the restoration of King Charles II to the throne in 1660. Lucy Worsley brings to life a fascinating household of the seventeenth-century painting a picture of conspiracy sexual intrigue clandestine marriage & gossip. From Ben Jonson & Van Dyck to a savage knife-wielding master-cook Cavalier" is a brilliant illumination of the stately home & all its many colourful inhabitants."