In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

A c k n o w l e d g m e n t s I could not have written this book without the aid of friends, patrons, and a number of “remarkable providences.” at Grinnell college, alison Games and don Smith unwittingly turned me into an English atlanticist. alison in particular convinced me that academic history was a glamorous life filled with caribbean vacations. While i have spent very little time on the beach, i remain grateful for her inspiration and friendship. Ethan Shagan performed a similar service at northwestern university, introducing me to early modern religious history and popular politics, and sending me in unexpected new directions. tim Breen was a model mentor, in that he left me to follow my interests, but was not shy to let me know when i went astray. He also taught me how to write—thus saving the reading public a great deal of pain and suffering. a number of institutions offered valuable financial assistance. northwestern ’s Graduate School and History department helped out, as did the catholic university of america and Boston college. (Thus proving that neither the catholic church nor the Society of Jesus is quite as bad as this book’s protagonists believed.) The massachusetts Historical Society and the Folger Shakespeare library gave me fellowships and opened up their collections and facilities. in addition, i benefited from the librarians and archivists at these and many other institutions, including the British library, the national archives at Kew, the national archives of Scotland, the massachusetts archives, the american antiquarian Society, the connecticut State library, the new-york Historical Society, and the Huntington library. The newberry library—and especially the d’arcy mcnickle center for american indian History—served as an intellectual home during my years in chicago, and the library of congress—and its phenomenal John W. Kluge center—served the same purpose in Washington. i am particularly grateful to all of the librarians , staff, and fellows of those fine institutions. Special thanks are due to my colleagues at catholic university and Boston college—and especially my 276 Acknowledgments students, for years of encouragement, astute questions, and reminding me why i became a historian in the first place. in my travels i have encountered hundreds of fellow scholars who have not only helped to shape this book, but have become valued friends as well. While i cannot possibly name everyone, i am particularly grateful to those who have helped me to clarify my ideas over the years by reading and commenting on sections of the book, including Bernard Bailyn, Josef Barton, Justin Behrend, chris Beneke, doug Bradburn, mike Guenther, Karl Gunther, david Hall, april Hatfield, chris Hodson, ron Hoffman, richard Johnson, Kevin Kenny, Karen Kupperman, Brendan mcconville, Brett rushforth, david Silverman, david Voorhees, and craig yirush. Steve Pincus, Justin Pope, Jason Sharples, Jenny Shaw, and Stephen taylor shared knowledge and sources from their own research. mary Zito translated several letters from latin. max Edelson provided advice, companionship, and some inspired, if ultimately discarded, title suggestions. tim Harris and John murrin inspired me with their scholarship , and later became tireless supporters of this work; i am grateful for their friendship and scholarly generosity. michael Kimmage never read a word of the manuscript, but shaped it nonetheless through years of conversations about the historian’s craft and less lofty subjects. two fellow historians influenced this book and its author in extraordinary ways. Evan Haefeli was one of the first people to show interest in this project, and he has continued to be a model reader, supporter, collaborator, dutch translator, and friend. Scott Sowerby has taught me most of what i know about later Stuart history, offered astute (and sometimes spirited) readings of the manuscript, and also helped to keep me sane. For all of this i am most grateful. i have also been blessed with fine editors. Bob lockhart has provided the perfect combination of prodding and support (and many drinks along the way), while dan richter has been the most astute reader and critic a young historian could hope for. Three readers for the press—ned landsman, mark Peterson, and Geoff Plank—offered cogent critiques of the manuscript at several different stages. my family and friends may not all be historians, but they have been most supportive of this book and its author. my parents leslie and Patricia Stanwood provided financial and moral support for many years. don Elmore, Julie Prentice, and Karen O’Brien offered their homes to me on research...

Share