by Brian Stone

£11.95 (paperback)

FREE UK POSTAGE

9781900446167

Published by Scarthin Books (2015)

On 4th December 1745, the ragged highland army of Bonnie Prince Charlie entered the market town of Derby on their march to London. It was to be the high watermark of the Jacobite Rebellion and what happened in the next two days arguably changed the course of British history forever.

This new book reveals much fresh and unfamiliar material which adds greatly to our understanding of this critical event in 18th Century history. It looks at the reception and behaviour of the rebel army, who briefly outnumbered the citizens of Derby itself. In particular, the author examines in detail the deliberations of the Council of War which decided on the retreat to Scotland, and analyses the acrimonious differences that separated the Prince from his senior officers. Crucially he deals once and for with all the myth of the spy Dudley Bradstreet and his alleged part in the decision, and then goes on to examine the prospects of the rebels if they had decided to march on to London and what might have happened had they reached the Capital. He also examines the reaction of the Hanoverian government and considers the performance of the local militia regiment, the Derbyshire Blues.

In both the text and extensive appendices the author quotes from many vivid contemporary newspaper reports, letters and eyewitness accounts, some previously unpublished. This is a major new work on the Jacobite invasion, and overturns long-held historical assumptions about the decision of the Council of War to abandon the attempt to regain the crown for the Stuarts.

 Brian Stone is an author and lecturer well known in the East Midlands for his talks on various aspects of regional and military history. His previous publications include Derbyshire in the Civil War (Scarthin Books) and Millennium Eyewitness (Piatkus Books). He lives near Derby.