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This book offers the first major reassessment of the life and work of Sir Henry Bennet, earl of Arlington, for over a century. Arlington was one of Charles II's chief ministers and the book charts his early years through to the careers of his descendants, examining his political development as a courtier, diplomat, linguist and politician. Authored by a series of experts in the field, the book not only shines a light on his career, but also on Charles II's reign as a whole, on the Cavalier court and on Restoration politics. Arlington was a significant player in international politics and this is reflected in the collection's treatment of his time abroad in the 1650s, his central role as an advisor and ambassador, and his influence in Ireland.
List of contents
1. Introduction: Henry Bennet, Earl of Arlington, and his World: Court, Politics and Diplomacy in the Restoration 2. 'The Inkhorn Lord'?: Locating Arlington's Connections 3. Pretending to Be Catholic?: Sir Henry Bennet, the Alliance with Spain and Stuart Dalliance with Rome, 1656-62 4. The Earl of Arlington and Restoration Ireland 5. Catholicism and Anti-Catholicism in Arlington's World: Polemic, Persuasion and the Conversion of Anne Hyde, Duchess of York 6. 'Faisons meieux': Henry Bennet, Earl of Arlington and His Political Tactics 7. Arlington and Access 8. 'So That my Estate May Continue in the Name and Blood of the Bennets for Ever': The Bennet Brothers and the Perpetuation of the Bennet Family 9. Naturally Born Courtiers: The FitzRoy Dukes of Grafton, 1685-1757
About the author
Robin Eagles is Editor of the House of Lords (1660–1832) section at the History of Parliament. His previous publications include Francophilia in English Society 1748–1815 (2000) and an edition of the Diaries of John Wilkes 1770–1797 (2014).
Coleman A. Dennehy is a former IRC Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow at UCD and UCL. Having formerly taught at Vienna, he is currently at the Humanities Institute (UCD) and has recently published Parliament in Ireland, 1613–89, Restoration Ireland, Law and Revolution in Seventeenth-Century Ireland, and several articles and chapters.
Summary
This book offers the first major reassessment of the life and work of Sir Henry Bennet, earl of Arlington, for over a century. Authored by a series of experts in the field, it not only shines a light on his career, but also on Charles II’s reign as a whole, on the Cavalier court, and on Restoration politics.
