I wish to thank Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for permission to quote from the Royal Archives, and Miss Allison Derrett, Archivist (Volunteers Manager), for her assistance. I am grateful for being able to work at the Jesuit Archives, Farm Street, and to Rebecca Somerset, Province Archivist.
I wish to thank the staff of the following: the Bodleian Library, Oxford; the British Library including Jamie Andrews and Jonathan Pledge; the Museum of London; the Public Record Office, Kew; and the Public Record Office, Northern Ireland; Thomas and Valerie Pakenham guided me in the Pakenham Archives, Tullynally Castle. The late Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor gave advice and encouragement.
The following people were helpful in many different ways, including suggestions about reading, answering queries or providing information. I thank Jonathan Aitken; Kenneth Baker; the late Sir Christopher Bland; Mark Bostridge; Fr. Michael Campbell-Johnston SJ; Judith Curthoys, Archivist of Christ Church, Oxford; Richard Davenport-Hines; Eugene Downes; Professor Roy Foster for encouragement at a critical moment; Sally Gardner; Professor Patrick Geoghegan; Geordie Greig; Lady Celestria Hales; the Very Rev. Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster; the late Lord Hutchinson of Lullington for his enthusiastic response to the title; Dr Serenhedd James; the late Lucy Jebb and Louis Jebb for the engraving of the Gordon Riots; Linda Kelly; Dominic Lawson; Allan Mallinson; Dr Leslie Mitchell; Charles Moore; Fr. Stephan Morgan and Mrs Cathy Pickles, Church of Our Lady of Mercy and St Joseph, Lymington; Nigel Morris, Chairman, The Peel Society; Sir Tom Oakshott; Professor David Parrott; Professor Munro Price; David Raymont, Librarian, The Actuarial Profession; John Martin Robinson; John Ronayne; Dr Ruth Scurr; Fr. Nicholas Schofield; Fr. Michael Seed; Anne Southworth; James Stourton; Sir Roy Strong; Canon Tony Trowles; Hugo Vickers; Katie Waldegrave; Robert Wright for research on European religious discrimination; Adam Zamoyski.
My agent, Jonathan Lloyd, was as helpful as ever; so was my publisher and friend Alan Samson, together with Lucinda McNeile, Linden Lawson and Christopher Phipps; Linda Peskin at home provided invaluable assistance. My family were as usual extremely supportive.
Lastly, Professor Boyd Hilton, Sir Anthony Kenny and Michael Walsh kindly read the manuscript at my request and provided valuable corrections; the interpretations – and any remaining errors – are my own responsibility. The book is dedicated jointly to an historian and a publisher: Hugh Thomas and George Weidenfeld, with each of whom I enjoyed a friendship lasting over sixty years.