The Politics of Regicide in England, 1760-1850

This lively, accessible book reappraises the often complex relationship between British monarchs and their more troublesome subjects in the “age of revolutions.” By exploring the efforts of the mad and the politically disaffected to intrude upon, assault, or pester kings and queens from George III to Victoria, Steve Poole casts new light upon the contested languages of constitutionalism, contract theory, and the rights of petition. He offers a detailed look at such unsuccessful and forgotten royal “assassins” as Margaret Nicholson, James Hadfield, and Dennis Collins. This lively, accessible book reappraises the often complex relationship between British monarchs and their more troublesome subjects in the “age of revolutions.” By exploring the efforts of the mad and the politically disaffected to intrude upon, assault, or pester kings and queens from George III to Victoria, Steve Poole casts new light upon the contested languages of constitutionalism, contract theory, and the rights of petition. He offers a detailed look at such unsuccessful and forgotten royal “assassins” as Margaret Nicholson, James Hadfield, and Dennis Collins.