The Guitar in Stuart England

This is the first history of the guitar during the reign of the Stuarts, a time of great political and social upheaval in England. In this engaging and original volume, Christopher Page gathers a rich array of portraits, literary works and other, previously unpublished, archival materials in order to create a comprehensive picture of the guitar from its early appearances in Jacobean records, through its heyday at the Restoration court in Whitehall, to its decline in the first decades of the eighteenth century. The book explores the passion of Charles II himself for the guitar, and that of Samuel Pepys, who commissioned the largest repertoire of guitar-accompanied song to survive from baroque Europe. Written in Page's characteristically approachable style, this volume will appeal to general readers as well as to music historians and guitar specialists.

• The guitar is now the most widely played instrument in the Western world and this is the first book to chart its success in early modern England
• Gathers portraits, archival materials and literary works to investigate the guitar's importance to key figures including Samuel Pepys and King Charles II
• Approachable and accessible, this volume will appeal to musicians and historians as well as to general guitar enthusiasts