This is the first modern history for general readers of the entire Jacobite movement in Scotland, England and Ireland, from the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1688 that drove James II into exile to the death of his grandson, Cardinal Henry, Duke of York, in 1807. The Battle of Culloden and Bonnie Prince Charlie’s flight through the heather are well known, but not the other risings and plots that involved half of Europe and even revolutionary America.
Spanning more than a century and involving almost every European country at one time or another (as well as America), the Jacobite cause is one of the epic stories of history. They may have failed in their aim to restore the house of Stuart to the British throne, but in that failure the Jacobites changed the course of history.
Intrigue, espionage, corruption and betrayal, as well as constancy to the cause in the face of terrible risks are all ingredients of this extraordinary tale. Few novels can boast such a colourful cast of characters — from the brilliant, mercurial Viscount Bolingbroke and the stiff, impossible Lord George Murray to the the half-mad Charles XII of Sweden and the suave and wily Cardinal Alberoni, not to mention one of the most well-known historical figures of all time — Bonnie Prince Charlie. Desmond Seward brings them all to life in this vivid, sweeping narrative, full of insight, anecdote and analysis.
