The Dales of Dale’s Field have farmed their Yorkshire estate for generations. But conflict with a local enemy and the outbreak of the English Civil War make a deep impact on Will Dale, the young yeoman farmer currently the estate’s owner. His instinct to support the Royalist cause puts him inevitably in conflict with many in the North. This also leads to surprising chance encounters as the Parliamentarians move inexorably towards executing King Charles I. In more personal terms, the tumultuous times frustrate Will’s hopes of making a stable life with the woman he loves.

Fletcher wrote a number of historical studies of Yorkshire—indeed, all his early novels were in this genre. When Charles the First Was King is described in Jonathan Nield’s authoritative guide to Victorian historical fiction as “an excellent Yorkshire tale.” It stands up well in the company of its more famous contemporaries.