Good wine comes from struggle
From our US edition
Oliver Cromwell would not have liked John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester. Born in 1647, two years before Cromwell engineered Charles I’s final appearance at Whitehall, Rochester was a shooting star in the Stuart Restoration under Charles II. His father, Henry, was a Cavalier who had been instrumental in arranging Charles II’s escape to the continent after Cromwell’s regicide. For services rendered, Henry was created Earl of Rochester in 1652. Rochester inherited the title upon his father’s death in 1658. You cannot read about either Rochester without soon encountering the word “dashing.” Both were charismatic, hard-drinking, courageous adventurers, epitomes of the Cavalier spirit. Henry, who died at 45, has receded into the footnotes of English history.
