Portrait of a Gentleman, traditionally thought to be James Howell, half-length, in a black and white doublet, white lace collar, and black mantle

James Howell (1594?-1666) wrote a number of historical and political pamphlets and is best remembered for his 'Epistolea Ho-elianae: Familiar Letters'. Educated at Jesus College, Oxford, he held diplomatic and administrative posts under Charles I, and was imprisoned in the Fleet as a Royalist from 1643 to 1651. Whilst in the Fleet he wrote the Royalist pamphlets 'England's Tears for the present Wars' and later his satirical 'Perfect Description of the Country of Scotland'.