The audacious crimes of Colonel Blood : the spy who stole the Crown Jewels and became the king's secret agent

Capture the castle -- Escape and evasion -- A taste for conspiracy -- A friend in need -- An incident in St James's -- The most audacious crime -- A royal pardon -- Coming in from the cold -- The ways of the Lord -- Epilogue.;"One morning in May 1671, a man disguised as a parson daringly attempted to seize the crown jewels from the Tower of London. Astonishingly, he managed to escape with the regalia and crown before being apprehended. And yet he was not executed for treason. Instead, the king granted him a generous income and he became a familiar strutting figure in the royal court's glittering state apartments ... Hutchinson paints a ... portrait of a double agent bent on ambiguous political and personal motivation, and provides an ... account of the perils and conspiracies that abounded in Restoration England"--Dust jacket flap. The gripping story of one of the most enigmatic and alluring figures in British a dangerous double agent and Irish rogue in King Charles II's court One morning in May 1671, a man disguised as a parson daringly attempted to seize the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. Astonishingly, he managed to escape with the regalia and crown before being apprehended. And yet he was not executed for treason. Instead, the king granted him a generous income and he became a familiar strutting figure in the royal court's glittering state apartments. This man was Colonel Thomas Blood, a notorious turncoat and fugitive from justice. Nicknamed the 'Father of all Treasons,' he had been involved in an attempted coup d'etat in Ireland as well as countless plots to assassinate Charles II. In an age when gossip and intrigue ruled the coffee houses, the restored Stuart king decided Blood was more useful to him alive than dead. But while serving as his personal spy, Blood was conspiring with his enemies. At the same time he hired himself out as a freelance agent for those seeking to further their political ambition. In The Audacious Crimes of Colonel Blood , bestselling historian Robert Hutchinson paints a vivid portrait of a double agent bent on ambiguous political and personal motivation, and provides an extraordinary account of the perils and conspiracies that abounded in Restoration England. Thomas Blood attempted to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London on 9 May 1671, escaping with St Edward's crown and the coronation regalia hidden in the breeches of his accomplices. When he was arrested, he happily acknowledged that the outrage 'was a gallant attempt that failed ... but it was for a crown'. But Blood was not just a daring thief attempting one of the greatest crimes in English history: he had already been involved in an abortive coup d'etat in his native Ireland, the attempted murder of the Duke of Ormond outside Clarence House, and an attempted assassination of Charles II while the king was swimming in the River Thames. Why was Blood not immediately executed for treason? The plain truth is that this brash adventurer was more useful to Charles alive than hanging from the gallows. Smooth-talking and brimming with Irish charm and wit, Blood became a spy for the king, eavesdropping on the whispers and gossip within the feverish atmosphere of the court, while also acting as a double agent for those conspiring to kill the king or being employed by politicians to bring down their rivals. 'It's no matter if one lets me fall, ' Blood proclaimed, 'another takes me up. I'm the best tool they have'. Robert Hutchinson grippingly describes the hotbed of political intrigue and conspiracy surrounding the 'Merry Monarch' The gripping story of one of the most enigmatic and alluring figures in British history: a dangerous double agent and Irish rogue in King Charles II's court One morning in May 1671, a man disguised as a parson daringly attempted to seize the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. Astonishingly, he managed to escape with the regalia and crown before being apprehended. And yet he was not executed for treason. Instead, the king granted him a generous income and he became a familiar strutting figure in the royal court's glittering state apartments. This man was Colonel Thomas Blood, a notorious turncoat and fugitive from justice. Nicknamed the 'Father of all Treasons,' he had been involved in an attempted coup d'etat in Ireland as well as countless plots to assassinate Charles II. In an age when gossip and intrigue ruled the coffee houses, the restored Stuart king decided Blood was more useful to him alive than dead. But while serving as his personal spy, Blood was...