AUDACIOUS CRIMES OF COLONEL BLOOD

Colonel Blood was the spy who stole the crown jewels and became the king's secret agent. One morning in May 1671, this man daringly attempted to seize the crown jewels from the Tower of London. Astonishingly he managed to escape with his haul before being apprehended. Yet he was not executed for treason. Instead, King Charles II decided that the audacious thief was more useful to him alive, and appointed him his personal spy. The notorious turncoat Colonel Thomas Blood had been previously involved in countless plots to assassinate the restored Stuart king. Bestselling historian Robert Hutchinson paints a vivid story of a double agent bent on political ambition and personal gain, including his involvement in an attempted coup d'état in Ireland and to overthrow the lawful governments of Ireland and Scotland and England in the late 17th century which won him widespread notoriety in the three kingdoms. Charles II's ministers publicly branded him the 'Father of all Treasons' and Blood became a hunted man throughout the length and breadth of the British Isle. Blood was an arrogant, eccentric fantasist with a very persuasive manner, reinforced by buckets of Irish charm, and armed with a neat turn of phrase that proved useful in a tight spot. He conducted his escapades under a multitude of aliases and assisted by a wardrobe packed full of disguises. We are drawn back to the death of Oliver Cromwell in 1653 and the momentous events and conspiracies that abounded in Restoration England. 341pp, paperback, 13 photos including colour plates.