Stephen M. Carter

Stephen M. Carter

Stephen M. Carter: Historical Detective

Stephen M. Carter was born in Frimley near the Sandhurst Military College in England. From an early age, he studied military history and in particular the 17th Century. In 2005 Stephen organised a series of events that recreated the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685. This reconstructed all the events on their original sites and at the historic dates. The climax was the dramatic recreation of the battle of Sedgemoor and a passion to set the historical record straight and paint a true picture of why the campaign was fought.

The result was 20 years of research into the true facts behind the Monmouth Rebellion and Stephen’s first book, Fighting for Liberty and a companion guide for wargamers called One King! Both were published by Helion & Co. This desire to realign the common perception with the eyewitness accounts which were at odds with the general histories. While writing these two books it became clear that the campaign and facts surrounding the protagonists were more complex than had been portrayed.

Aided by new levels of detail made available through broad online books and digital photography in the public archives Stephen Carter is working on two parallel writing tracks. The first was to produce a series of books that explained the art of war by using original French and Dutch manuscripts. Published by Helion & Co., Science of Arms give detailed insight into the preparation and conduct of war, from the private soldier to the general.

However, the more dramatic findings from Stephen Carter’s research are the true story of the reign of Charles II. This has not only uncovered large errors in the general knowledge surrounding the mother of the Duke of Monmouth, Lucy Walter but also a wider set of myths taken as fact. The first book based on these new findings will be published by Pen & Sword and is called Charles IIs Secret Queen, Lucy Walter, an Infamous Mistress or Forsaken Queen?

Stephen Carter is an expert on the life and times of the Duke of Monmouth, 17th Century warfare and the Restoration period. Now living and working in Chambois, France, Stephen’s spare time is spent researching and writing as much as possible. He is a skilled public speaker and storyteller. Stephen Carter is always happy to speak on any historical topic. Listen to his latest podcast on History Rage.

Stephen’s published books are:

Book cover of Fighting for Liberty
Cover of Fighting for Liberty
Cover of the book One King
One King Book Cover
Cover of Science of Arms v1
Science of Arms v1