CAPTAIN LUCKLESS - James, First Duke of Hamilton 1606-1649 by Rubinstein, Hilary L

Edinburgh, 1975, Scottish Acadmic press, first UK edition, hard bound in dust jacket, 6x9, VG/VG condition( book is VG but is actually bound upside down in the hard covers ), xii, 307 pages, illus, maps, notes, bibliog, index.........................................................................James, first Duke of Hamilton was a man maligned by his contemporaries and misunderstood by history. The next heir to the throne of Scotland after the Royal Stuarts, he was constantly suspected of treacherous behaviour and was at last imprisoned by Charles I on a charge of treason for which he never stood trial. Despite his advantages of birth and wealth, he was consistently dogged by misfortune, the `Captain Luckless' indeed of Montrose's phrase.In this full-length biography, the first of Hamilton for 300 years, Mrs Rubinstein brilliantly unravels the personality and motivations of this mysterious man whose very mother once threatened to shoot him with her own hand, and whose ill-starred political and military career ultimately led him to share his sovereign's tragic fate. Nevertheless, Hamilton's contributions to the politics of his time, both in Scotland and in England, were immense. Mrs Rubinstein argues that he properly stands alongside Laud and Strafford, Argyll and Montrose, as one of the key figures of the Civil War epoch.