Publisher's Synopsis
There the actions and opinions of local magnates had to mesh with the ambitions and loyalties of freeholders to determine the results of elections and the consequent success or failure of the elaborate plans drawn up by national politicians. The great men in London could arrange and compromise; they could obtain a supply of suitable patronage to sustain the candidate whom they favoured. But, as the author clearly shows, their schemes could be thwarted by the freeholders and burgh leaders. The first section of the book gives an overview of patronage and political management in the period; this is followed up by a series of detailed studies of the course of events in a number of key elections. This is an original and eye-opening contribution to our understanding of the workings of politics in eighteenth and early nineteenth-century Scotland, and will be of interest to anyone who enjoys observing the ins and outs of political manoeuvring.
