Dearest Brother: Lauderdale, Tweeddale and Scottish Politics, 1660-1674

Providing the first detailed account of the course of Scottish politics during the reign of Charles II, this history focuses on the years from 1667 to 1673—when, for the only time in the Restoration era, Scottish political leaders were able to make policy for Scotland with minimal interference from London. Based on the unpublished correspondence written by secretary of state John Maitland, earl of Lauderdale, his chief agent in Edinburgh, John Hay, earl of Tweeddale, and Sir Robert Moray—King Charles’s fellow chemist and close friend—this record demonstrates how this triumvirate inaugurated a program of reform that had some initial success but foundered on political and personal disagreements.