The incendiary : the misadventures of John the Painter, first modern terrorist : a brief account of his short life, from his birth in Edinburgh, anno 1752, to his death, by hanging, in Portsmouth, anno 1777, to which was once appended a meditation on the

In 1776 and 1777, during the American Revolution, a young Scot known only as John the Painter took his war to England by committing acts of terror in the dockyards of the mighty British navy. This is the first full-length biography of that brilliant but disturbed young man. His story offers chilling parallels to the present – and insights into why certain young men are driven to commit unspeakable crimes. Warner has written a book of history that reads like a picaresque novel, but always with a modern twist. Its hero travels to France and receives the blessing of the American envoy there. King George III offers a reward for his capture. Bow Street Runners are sent out inpursuit. Newspapers print sensational stories. A bill to suspend habeas corpus is rushed through Parliament and American privateers – the unlawful combatants of their day – are held without being charged. The Incendiary takes readers on a fascinating journey from Europe to colonial America and finally to the gallows at Portsmouth. In this atmospheric and deftly researched tale of a young man who tried to bring down a superpower, Warner has crafted a popular history with contemporary implications. His real name was James Aitken, though he was better known as "John the Painter," and during the early months of the American Revolution, he wreaked havoc in England by performing acts of terror on behalf of America. In this first full-length chronicle of the man who attempted to burn down royal navy yards across England, Jessica Warner paints a tart and entertaining portrait of the world's first modern terrorist. At the height of the scare, King George III received daily briefings from his ministers, the Bow Street Runners were on the chase, newspapers printed sensational stories, and in Parliament a bill was rushed through to suspend habeas corpus. This is rollicking popular history with something for every reader—authentic 18th-century atmosphere, timely social history, international political intrigue, terrorism, chase scenes, spies, a double agent or two, a jailhouse snitch, the king, a young woman innocently tending her sheep, and much more.