Colonel Blood: The Man Who Stole the Crown Jewels [Hardcover]

David C. Hanrahan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2003

Thomas Blood (1618-80) was a celebrity in his own lifetime, even though this celebrity was based on infamy. A turncoat, spy and double agent, Blood is most notorious for being the only person to successfully steal the crown jewels. This book not only explores the rich seam of villainy inherent in Blood's rumbustious career, but also depicts in detail the effects of the civil war and the means by which the crown maintained power in the difficult early years of Charles II's reign by fully exploiting a prototypical intelligence network. From all of this Blood emerges as a complex, perhaps even a tortured figure. Was he simply a daredevil, or something altogether more driven, compelled to confront authority at every turn and live by his own standards, a permanent rebel and outsider?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Hanrahan is a headteacher and lecturer in the philosophy of education at the University of Ireland, Galway. He has written numerous articles on Ireland in the Civil Wars as well as an illustrated history of the Irish accordian.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: The History Press (January 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0750933275
• ISBN-13: 978-0750933278
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,858,479 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Biography on an Outlaw Who Stole the Crown Jewels of England, March 18, 2007

By 

Dakota "daxydakota" (Southern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Colonel Blood: The Man Who Stole the Crown Jewels (Hardcover)

The nonfiction biography "Colonel Blood: The Man Who Stole the Crown Jewels" by David C. Hanrahan had its good and bad moments. It wasn't among the best biographies I have ever read, but it did have shining moments that made me want to read about the lives of other people mentioned in the book.

To start, "Colonel Blood" is about Thomas Blood, a seventeenth century veteran of the English Civil War who became an outlaw - and then, impossibly, became a favorite of King Charles II after Blood tried to steal from the king himself.

The idea of reading the real-life story of the man who stole the English Crown Jewels from the Tower of London was what obviously attracted me to reading this book. I figured it had to be a fascinating story. Unfortunately, the writing itself was not what I expected.

The writing is dry, for the most part. Many people are mentioned and are hard to keep track of. There is not much in terms of detail about the everyday lives of people living in seventeenth century Britain. There wasn't even that much detail about the Civil War.

However, there were a couple chapters that fascinated me, mostly because the people themselves were so fascinating. Chapter 9 on George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham, was an interesting portrait of a man of questionable morals, personally and politically. Chapter 12 on Charles II, the Merry Monarch, was also fascinating in its portrayal of a very self-indulgent man with dozens of mistresses, to his Queen's horror. The poor Queen was childless and had to suffer the humiliating presence of the King's mistresses and illegitimate children. I felt so bad for her.

I'm not sure if this is the only biography on Colonel Blood. For me, it was hard to read (though I read it quickly) because it couldn't keep my attention. Too many people, names, incidences, etc. filled its pages without the author fleshing out their identities and stories more clearly. Honestly, I would have liked more. I would have also liked to have found Colonel Blood as interesting as some of the minor characters in the story, but it was not meant to be.

4.0 out of 5 stars interesting account of a strange event, June 5, 2010

By 

adorian - See all my reviews

This review is from: Colonel Blood: The Man Who Stole the Crown Jewels (Paperback)

I had no idea that someone in the 1600s stole the Crown Jewels of England, so this turned out to be very interesting reading. It's about a scoundrel (Thomas Blood) who always seems to be up to no good. The author gives us a lot of good historical perspective of the violent times before, during, and after Cromwell's reign.

It's a short book, but it's not always easy to read. The author quotes a lot from original source materials, so there is a considerable amount of Ye Olde Spellynge that I found rather easy simply to skip. It's a scholarly text with footnotes, but the author has the charming habit of putting exclamation marks at the end of sentences that tell us things that apparently surprised him. What he considers surprising is not necessarily something I find surprising!

In addition to telling us the life and times of Thomas Blood, we get chapters about other interesting people from British history, and this is what makes the book the most useful. Just about everyone mentioned has roller-coaster ups and downs based on changes in political fortunes. I especially enjoyed reading about Barbara Villiers and the various Earls of Ormonde.