Reviews
Highly readable, with brilliantly rendered characters, and thrilling tales of deceit and espionage. Seward writes of the Jacobites from a sympathetic point of view. Yet he does not shy away from the fact that, the Jacobites were never seriously in with a chance of restoring their rule'
Military History Monthly
Those with an interest in such matters will be delighted to read historian Desmond Seward’s new book. It sets theStuarts’ story in context – chronologically, constitutionally, politically, religiously and regionally’
Lancashire Post
An engaging look at the violent struggle of the surprisingly diverse Jacobites...Seward’s narrative is swift and cinematic with neatly sketched character portraits, from William III (“skeletal, round-shouldered, eagle-nosed and racked by asthma”) to Queen Anne (“obese, purple-faced, rheumy eyed [and] a martyr to gout”)’
Rhys Jones, Times Literary Supplement
Seward demonstrates that the Jacobites were a multi-faceted and multinational bunch, united by a common vision of an alternative future. Swift and cinematic, with neatly sketched character portraits'
Financial Times
Seward's detailed descriptions of the Princes, Princesses, Kings and Queens create a sense of theatre and allow the reader to fully immerse themselves into the dramatic events of the period ... an engaging and easy read, perfect for emerging history buffs. 4.5/5 stars.'
Scottish Field
An outstanding contribution to our understanding of a complex and extended passage of history. So much about the Jacobites has tended to focus on just one or two brief episodes taken from what was, in reality, a very long-running soap opera Seward’s style is approachable and eminently readable, leading you through the many twists and turns. Deserves to be widely read'
Undiscovered Scotland
Seward offers a fresh look at the struggle to restore the Stuart monarch after the Glorious Revolution in 1688. A bracingly revisionist history'
Telegraph
Seward's clear-sighted examination of the Jacobite movement shows how close it came to succeeding'
Scotsman
Seward's best work, persuasive and consistently employing a briskness in pace, a clarity of style and a genius for capturing the character of those long dead, long-forgotten and, perhaps, never remembered ... a rollickingly, splendidly chronological history'
Herald
About the Book
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.
Based on the latest research, The King over the Water weaves together all the strands of this gripping saga into a vivid, sweeping narrative, full of insight, analysis and anecdote. ‘Few causes have aroused a more gallant response from the peoples of these islands than the Honest Cause’, writes Desmond Seward, ‘whether they were fighting for it at Killiecrankie, Prestonpans or Culloden, at the Boyne, Aughrim or Fontenoy, or dying for it on the scaffold’.
The Author
Desmond Seward
Desmond Seward was educated at Ampleforth and St Catharine’s College, Cambridge. One of the most highly regarded popular historians of his generation, he is the author of numerous books, ranging from studies of medieval kings to biographies of Napoleon and Hitler. His books The Hundred Years’ War and The Wars of the Roses are regarded as standard works on their subjects.
