Birthright
The True Story that Inspired Kidnapped
A. Roger Ekirch (Author, Virginia Tech)
"Ekirch out-kidnaps Stevenson in this thrilling, thoroughly documented story." —Booklist, starred review
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).
Book Details
- Paperback
- June 2011
-
ISBN 978-0-393-34001-3
- 5.5 × 8.3 in
/ 258 pages
- Territory Rights: Worldwide
Other Formats
-
Hardcover
Endorsements & Reviews
“Ekirch does a masterful job of detailing these events in this meticulously researched and highly readable narrative. Concisely written and well documented, this fascinating book will appeal to both serious readers and general history buffs.” — Library Journal
“An engrossing familial and legal tale told with dash and clarity.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Ekirch’s book brings the story brilliantly to life and vividly reconstructs the violent and debt-ridden world in which disreputable aristocrats operated.” — Sunday Times [London]
“A splendid story of low skullduggery and high politics, and Roger Ekirch deserves congratulation for disinterring it. As befits an eminent historian, his research is detailed and the evidence carefully weighed.” — The Spectator
“More fascinating than the fiction spin-off. . . . In combining an inherently exciting tale with surprising facts, Ekirch has come up with one of the year's most intriguing history books.” — Richmond Times-Dispatch
“The story of Jemmy Annesley, kidnapped at 12 and shipped from Dublin to the
American backwoods in 1728 by his wicked Uncle Richard, certainly recalls an
early episode in the story of young David Balfour. But the tale of
Annesley's picaresque adventures is excitingly dramatic in its own right and
Professor Ekirch has researched it with academic relish as a real-life
oddity that is no stranger than fiction.” — Iain Finlayson, The Times [London]
“This gripping book tells a remarkable true story. . . . Roger Ekirch expertly illumines eighteenth-century societies in the British colonies and the seedy underside of Georgian Dublin. His masterly, sympathetic and racy reconstruction of the adventures of Jemmy Annesley at last fleshes out the truth behind the tales told by Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson.” — Toby Barnard, University of Oxford
“An extraordinary work of history by one of America’s most imaginative historians, a true story more fascinating than fiction.” — Gordon S. Wood, professor of history emeritus, Brown University
Also by A. Roger Ekirch 
-
Paperback
Related Books
-
“The new generation of twenty-first-century African writers have now come of age. Without a doubt Habila is one of the best.”—Emmanuel DongalaMore
-
A luminous story of danger and survival.More
All Subjects