The King and the Catholics: England, Ireland, and the Fight for Religious Freedom, 1780–1829

Acclaimed historian, biographer, and novelist Fraser (Faith and Treason: The Story of the Gunpowder Plot) vividly describes a 50-year period in the struggle for Catholic rights in England and Ireland. Beginning with the Gordon Riots of 1780, which saw London decimated by uprisings against the proposed Catholic Relief Bill to restore the rights of Catholics, and ending with the Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1829, Fraser deftly tells a compelling account of a conflict rooted in religion and politics. While there's no question of the author's view on the struggle (she is herself a Catholic convert), Fraser does not absolve the many English Catholics who looked down on their Irish coreligionists. While recounting the historical facts, Fraser paints portraits of the personalities involved, including King George IV, who fell in love with a Catholic but dared not marry her and was reluctant to give in to Catholic Emancipation since he was supposed to uphold the Protestant Church.