In Defiance of Oligarchy

The book delves into the tory party's decline in English politics between 1714 and 1760, a period often overlooked by historians. Linda Colley examines how the tories, previously dominant, were excluded from power and challenges the notion of their alignment with crypto-Jacobitism. She analyzes the ideological and organizational factors that allowed the party to persist despite political marginalization and critiques prevailing views on political stability during the reigns of George I and II, suggesting a more complex narrative of social and political change.