There is little doubt that the ’45 rebellion was the greatest challenge to the eighteenth-century British state. The battle of Culloden in which it culminated was certainly one of the most dramatic of the century. This study, based on extensive archival research, examines the political and military context of the uprising and highlights the seriousness of the challenge posed by the Jacobites. The result is an illuminating account of an episode often obscured by the perspectives of Stuart romance.

JEREMY BLACK is Professor of History at the University of Exeter. He has written over 100 books including Pitt the Elder: The Great Commoner, A System of Ambition?. Why Wars Happen and volumes 2 and 3 of the National Trust Historical Atlas of Britain. He is also editor of the Dorling Kindersley Atlas of World History.