“Ekirch out-kidnaps Stevenson in this thrilling, thoroughly documented story.”— Booklist , starred review No saga of personal hardship so captivated the British pub- lic 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 ). 26 black-and-white illustrations, 3 maps