Test 1

R E A D ING P A S S A GE 3
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27–40, which are based on Reading
Passage 3 below.

To catch a king
Anna Keay reviews Charles Spencer’s book about the hunt for King Charles II
during the English Civil War of the seventeenth century

Charles Spencer’s latest book, To Catch a with the writer and diarist Samuel Pepys. His
King, tells us the story of the hunt for King intention when asking Pepys to commit his
Charles II in the six weeks after his resounding story to paper was to ensure that this most
defeat at the Battle of Worcester in September extraordinary episode was never forgotten.
1651. And what a story it is. After his father Over two three-hour sittings, the king related
was executed by the Parliamentarians in 1649, to him in great detail his personal recollections
the young Charles II sacrificed one of the of the six weeks he had spent as a fugitive. As
very principles his father had died for and the king and secretary settled down (a scene
did a deal with the Scots, thereby accepting that is surely a gift for a future scriptwriter),
Presbyterianism* as the national religion in Charles commenced his story: ‘After the battle
return for being crowned King of Scots. His was so absolutely lost as to be beyond hope of
arrival in Edinburgh prompted the English recovery, I began to think of the best way of
Parliamentary army to invade Scotland in a saving myself.’
pre-emptive strike. This was followed by a
Scottish invasion of England. The two sides One of the joys of Spencer’s book, a result not
finally faced one another at Worcester in least of its use of Charles II’s own narrative
the west of England in 1651. After being as well as those of his supporters, is just how
comprehensively defeated on the meadows close the reader gets to the action. The day-by-
outside the city by the Parliamentarian army, day retelling of the fugitives’ doings provides
the 21-year-old king found himself the subject delicious details: the cutting of the king’s long
of a national manhunt, with a huge sum hair with agricultural shears, the use of walnut
offered for his capture. Over the following leaves to dye his pale skin, and the day Charles
six weeks he managed, through a series of spent lying on a branch of the great oak tree in
heart-poundingly close escapes, to evade the Boscobel Wood as the Parliamentary soldiers
Parliamentarians before seeking refuge in scoured the forest floor below. Spencer draws
France. For the next nine years, the penniless out both the humour – such as the preposterous
and defeated Charles wandered around Europe refusal of Charles’s friend Henry Wilmot
with only a small group of loyal supporters. to adopt disguise on the grounds that it was
beneath his dignity – and the emotional tension
Years later, after his restoration as king, the when the secret of the king’s presence was
50-year-old Charles II requested a meeting cautiously revealed to his supporters.

* Presbyterianism: part of the reformed Protestant religion

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 Reading

Charles’s adventures after losing the Battle of pacey, readable prose steers deftly clear of
Worcester hide the uncomfortable truth that modern idioms and elegantly brings to life the
whilst almost everyone in England had been details of the great tale. He has even-handed
appalled by the execution of his father, they sympathy for both the fugitive king and the
had not welcomed the arrival of his son with fierce republican regime that hunted him,
the Scots army, but had instead firmly bolted and he succeeds in his desire to explore far
their doors. This was partly because he rode at more of the background of the story than
the head of what looked like a foreign invasion previous books on the subject have done. Indeed,
force and partly because, after almost a decade the opening third of the book is about how
of civil war, people were desperate to avoid Charles II found himself at Worcester in the first
it beginning again. This makes it all the more place, which for some will be reason alone to
interesting that Charles II himself loved the read To Catch a King.
story so much ever after. As well as retelling
it to anyone who would listen, causing eye- The tantalising question left, in the end, is that
rolling among courtiers, he set in train a series of what it all meant. Would Charles II have
of initiatives to memorialise it. There was to been a different king had these six weeks never
be a new order of chivalry, the Knights of the happened? The days and nights spent in hiding
Royal Oak. A series of enormous oil paintings must have affected him in some way. Did the
depicting the episode were produced, including need to assume disguises, to survive on wit and
a two-metre-wide canvas of Boscobel Wood charm alone, to use trickery and subterfuge to
and a set of six similarly enormous paintings escape from tight corners help form him? This
of the king on the run. In 1660, Charles II is the one area where the book doesn’t quite hit
commissioned the artist John Michael Wright the mark. Instead its depiction of Charles II in
to paint a flying squadron of cherubs* carrying his final years as an ineffective, pleasure-loving
an oak tree to the heavens on the ceiling of his monarch doesn’t do justice to the man (neither
bedchamber. It is hard to imagine many other is it accurate), or to the complexity of his
kings marking the lowest point in their life so character. But this one niggle aside, To Catch a
enthusiastically, or indeed pulling off such an King is an excellent read, and those who come
escape in the first place. to it knowing little of the famous tale will find
they have a treat in store.
Charles Spencer is the perfect person to
pass the story on to a new generation. His

* cherub: an image of angelic children used in paintings

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Test 1

Questions 27–31

Complete the summary using the list of phrases, A–J, below.

Write the correct letter, A–J, in boxes 27–31 on your answer sheet.

The story behind the hunt for Charles II

Charles II’s father was executed by the Parliamentarian forces in 1649. Charles II
then formed a 27 with the Scots, and in order to become King of
Scots, he abandoned an important 28 that was held by his father
and had contributed to his father’s death. The opposing sides then met outside
Worcester in 1651. The battle led to a 29 for the Parliamentarians
and Charles had to flee for his life. A 30 was offered for Charles’s
capture, but after six weeks spent in hiding, he eventually managed to reach the
31 of continental Europe.

A military innovation B large reward C widespread conspiracy

D relative safety E new government F decisive victory
G political debate H strategic alliance I popular solution
J religious conviction

Questions 32–35

Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3?

In boxes 32–35 on your answer sheet, write

YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer

NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

32 
Charles chose Pepys for the task because he considered him to be trustworthy.

33 Charles’s personal recollection of the escape lacked sufficient detail.

34 
Charles indicated to Pepys that he had planned his escape before the battle.

35 The inclusion of Charles’s account is a positive aspect of the book.

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