Birthright: The True Story that Inspired Kidnapped - Softcover

"...impeccably researched yet rip-roaring rendering of Annesley's life..." The Guardian "Ekirch's book brings the story vividly to life and brilliantly reconstructs the violent and debt-ridden world in which disreputable aristocrats such as Anglesea operated." The Sunday Times "...a splendid story of low skulduggery and high politics..." The Spectator "Ekirch's book exhibits a richness of contextual anecdote throughout..." The Times Literary Supplement "...extremely readable and intricately researched..." Irish Daily Mail "Ekirch's storytelling skills illuminate why Jemmy's story caught the imagination of the eminent writers-and eventually the entire populace-of Britain and Ireland." Diplomat "...the tale of Annesley's picaresque adventures is excitingly dramatic in its own right and Professor Ekirch has researched it with academic relish..." The Times "If you like edge-of-the-seat courtroom drama... then this is the book for you..." Practical Family History

No saga of personal hardship so captivated the British public in the eighteenth century as that of James Annesley, the presumptive heir of five aristocratic titles and scion of the mighty house of Annesley. Kidnapped at twelve years of age by his uncle and sold into indentured servitude in America, James would ultimately escape after toiling for twelve years in Delaware, returning to Ireland to bring his blood rival, the Earl of Anglesea, to justice in one of the epic trials of the century. Set against the volatile backdrop of Georgian Ireland, historian A. Roger Ekirch recounts the extraordinary family drama that inspired Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel Kidnapped "with dash and clarity" (Kirkus Reviews).