Espionage in the Divided Stuart Dynasty, 1685–1715

A historian and intelligence expert explores intrigue, betrayal, and spying in Stuart England after the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

King James II was the Catholic king of a Protestant nation. Though he had inherited a secure crown, he would soon find himself isolated and flee to France in exile. His throne was seized by his Protestant son-in-law William and daughter Mary. For James it was a personal tragedy of King Lear proportions; for most of his subjects it was a Glorious Revolution that saved his kingdoms from popery.

Over the next hundred years James and his descendants would attempt to win back the crown with French support and conspiring with British Jacobites and Tories. In Espionage in the Divided Stuart Dynasty, Julian Whitehead charts the inner workings of government intelligence during this unstable period. His narrative sheds light on the murky world of spies and double agents at a time of when many politicians and peers tried to keep a foot in both camps.