Description

‘Excellent… It is a tremendous tale – one of the most dramatic in our island’s history – and O’Keeffe tells it beautifully’ The Times

Charles Edward Stuart’s campaign to seize the British throne ended with one of the quickest defeats in history: on 16 April 1746, at Culloden, his Jacobite army was overpowered in under forty minutes. Its brutal repercussions, however, endured for years, its legacy for centuries.

Paul O’Keeffe follows the Jacobite army from initial victories to calamitous defeat. Exploring the battle’s aftermath, he chronicles the Jacobite prisoners paying for their treason on block and gibbet while those granted ‘the King’s mercy’ suffered the fate of forced labour on plantations in the colonies. While Stuart’s cause eventually acquired an aura of romanticism, the Jacobite Rising remains one of the most bloody and divisive conflicts in British domestic history, which resonates to this day.

‘Detailed, vivid – and not for the faint-hearted’ Financial Times

‘Fascinating, meticulously researched… tremendous’ Daily Mail

‘Intensely readable… and vividly written’ Neal Ascherson, London Review of Books

Publisher Review

A tremendous tale - one of the most dramatic in our island's history - and O'Keeffe tells it beautifully, -- Saul David * The Times * Fascinating, meticulously researched, often brutally detailed ... without being there, those times could not be more vividly brought to life than in this tremendous book -- Roger Alton * Daily Mail * Brings the last battle on British soil to life with page-turning vivacity * Mail on Sunday * A fascinating portrait of 18th-century Britain as an age of elegance and brutality... I recommend this book strongly -- Allan Massie * Scotsman * A fascinating portrait of eighteenth-century Britain as an age of elegance and brutality... I recommend this book strongly -- Allan Massie * Scotsman, *Books of the Year* * Detailed, vivid - and not for the faint-hearted * Financial Times * Intensely readable... [and] vividly written -- Neal Ascherson * London Review of Books *