A Game of Thrones

In the wake of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, intrigue and espionage defined a turbulent era as James II's loyal Jacobites, bolstered by French support, fought to restore the Stuart dynasty. Facing relentless countermeasures from rising British intelligence and new monarchs, their ambitions ultimately crumbled by 1745. In 1688, James II left the throne of England after the Glorious Revolution, ushering in an era of political intrigue and espionage. This book highlights the efforts of his followers, the Jacobites, to restore the Stuart dynasty. They were supported by the French Kings Louis XIV and Louis XV and faced the countermeasures from William III, James II's son-in-law, who replaced him as king alongside James's daughter Mary II, and then by Queen Anne and King George I. Thanks in part to effective intelligence, the new monarchs thwarted all attempts at invasion and insurrection, leading to the Jacobites’ final defeat in 1745. As Neil Kent and Clément Chevalier reveal in this fascinating new book, the intelligence war also marked the end of the old international order, with the triumph of British intelligence services and the advent of Great Britain as the dominant power in Europe and throughout the world.