The Blazing World

One of the nice things about a detailed narrative history like this is how many ideas sloppily or simplified elsewhere get clarified. I have read descriptions of the Glorious Revolution that describe King James II Revolution the Great Seal of England into the Thames before boarding a ship to the continent. Also impulse in some references is that Parliament requested William of Orange come over and replace James in a peaceful and bloodless coup. Both of these seemed dramatic enough to make me skeptical.  The Blazing World corrected my understanding.  James did indeed throw the Great Seal of England into the Thames but some days before he escaped custody of William's forces and slipped out of the country.  Parliament did not invite William to take the throne, followed by a peaceful entry. William and a small army landed on the Kentish coast and marched to London.

If you are need of knowledge of this pivotal set of events that leads to our Revolution, Healey's book is detailed and interesting.