THE SCAPEGOAT

PLUTARCH AWARD FOR THE BEST BIOGRAPHY OF 2024 SHORTLISTED FOR THE DUFF COOPER PRIZE SUBLIME A NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 STUNNINGLY GOOD THE TIMES BEST HISTORY BOOKS 2024 COMPULSIVE A PROSPECT BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 BRILLIANT A SPECTATOR BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 A delicious grippingly paced tale of rogues riotous sex regicide and realpolitik INDEPENDENT BEST BOOKS FOR CHRISTMAS This is the page turner that Buckingham s short racy life deserves DAILY TELEGRAPH Vivid erudite and sympathetic The Scapegoat shows that Hughes Hallett s eye for the seamy realities of an extraordinary life is as sharp as ever THE TIMES Lord Buckingham rockets off the page of this gloriously epic seductively detailed biography OLIVIA LAING As King James I s favourite Buckingham was also his confidant gatekeeper right hand man and lover When Charles I succeeded his father he was similarly enthralled and made Buckingham his best friend and mentor A dazzling figure on horseback and a skilful player of the political game Buckingham rapidly transformed the influence his beauty gave him into immense wealth and power He became one of the most flamboyant and enigmatic Englishmen at the heart of seventeenth century royal and political life With a novelist s touch