The controversial King of England, Scotland and Wales is the subject of the biographical novel "Charles I", authored by historian Jacob Abbott. Charles's constant battles with his nation's Parliament culminated into the English Civil War of 1642 which he lost. His subsequent refusal to accept a constitutional monarchy however led to his trial and execution for high treason, and England temporarily became a republic. The book begins with the romantic and chivalrous story of how his father King James of Scotland famously sailed in search of his desired bride, and eventually married his mother Anne, a Danish princess.