Reviews for William III the Stadholder-king

The average rating for William III the Stadholder-king based on 2 reviews is 2 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-01-12 00:00:00 Robert Crichton I think that Claydon had a very good central idea to build this book around - that William's Orange identity managed to save England, Scotland and Ireland from instability, and I found it a quite interesting read.

Review # 2 was written on 2019-01-14 00:00:00 Martin Cortez Jr. An excellent scholarly biography meant for the non-specialist. Claydon makes a compelling case that William III was in many ways the monarch that saved Britons throughout the Stuart realms from their often bumbling and foolish monarchs. Claydon's central--and perhaps controversial--thesis is that the Orange identity that William brought to the British throne allowed him to cut through the confusing Gordian knot that handicapped the reigns of his Stuart grandfather and uncles. The author points out that William's association with unionists in Ulster has overshadowed the fact that he was a tolerant monarch who argued for a measure of religious rights for all his subjects. Claydon's thesis is durable, and the book convinces the reader of William's historical necessity, and perhaps his greatness.