The Atterbury Plot

The Atterbury Plot was one of three Jacobite attempts to seize the throne from the Hanover line, and the only one that was decided primarily outside of battle. It was an exercise almost purely of political power based on the personal reputations of the various participants, their power in and out of Parliament, and their ability to cajole and convince others that treason was defined primarily by timing. Author and historian Cruikshank and co-author Erskine-Hill (literary history, U. of Cambridge) examine new materials in this complex political struggle, finding that motivations on all sides were complicated by more than personal convictions, and that a recent financial disaster, the throes of empire, and a lingering aftertaste of battle permeated many of the conspirators' and anti-conspirators' actions. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR