Birthright: The True Story That Inspired Kidnapped

Ekirch's account of family lineage gone wrong is the ultimate investigation into crimes of another era. He approaches the subject matter with careful objectiveness - and the reader quickly realizes why - as just about everyone is carrying around some serious moral baggage! It's easy to root against Uncle Richard, but harder to fully embrace Jemmy as a hero worthy of our deepest sympathies. Sure enough, the outcome doesn't disappoint. I won't spoil it, but no one (except maybe the lawyers) rides into the sunset unscathed. Indeed, truth is stranger than fiction. This stuff is far more compelling than the glitzy, empty calorie crime dramas of today. Aside from simply being a first class yarn, perhaps the most compelling reason to read Birthright is to appreciate how a top historian carefully untangles the events of the distant past. Ekirch succeeds in weaving a compelling mosaic of lives lived and events transpired almost 300 years ago. It's nothing short of amazing. Museums house the artifacts of the times, but a great historian's work is the only true portal into the collective ethos of these bygone societies. From the intricacies of the English legal system, to the weather patterns (he clearly visited all these locations!), to the time it took for a speedy horseman to convey news from Dublin to London (5 days), Ekirch has compiled an incredible piece of research and understanding. Bravo!

The story "Birthright" is a fascinating story of greed,cruelty,and redemption. It is of such historical significance it must be told and retold to inspire us all during these times of war,disasters, and famine. I loved the lesson learned about the importance of hope and perseverance.

A.Roger Ekirch's "Birthright" documents the fascinating and harrowing true story of James Annesley - the rightful heir to a Irish hereditary title who was wronged and forcibly expelled by his vengeful usurper uncle only to return years later to wage a legal case to claim what belonged to him. Ekirch expertly balances the historical intricacies of Annesley's story (in particular, he breaks down the complicated structures of Irish nobility) with the sheer adventure of James' almost to-fantastical-to-be-true saga. As the inspiration of Robert Louis Stevenson's "Kidnapped," Annesley's true story is brought to life in Ekirch's "Birthright" to magnificent and wonderful effect - you can almost hear the boat traffic on the River Liffey and smell the streets of Dublin - and one comes to empathize with young James' struggles. Ekirch's prose leaps out at you and his knowledge of and research into the story makes "Birthright" a must read for any enthusiast.

A. Roger Ekirch's "Birthright" relates the story of James Anneslea, the son of an impoverished, spendthrift, profligate Anglo-Irish 18th century aristocrat and heir to several titles of nobility, including the Earl of Anglesea. At the age of 8, young James was turned out of his father's house in Dublin, in large part due to the animus of his father's mistress, to live mostly as a street waif, although he maintained contact with his family. After his father's death four years later, young Anglesea was abducted by his uncle and sent off as an indentured servant to America so that his uncle could claim the family titles. After 13 years of virtual slavery, Anneslea escaped his bondage and made his way to Britain to begin a long legal struggle to establish his identity and right to inherit, beginning a bewildering series of trials and lawsuits, interspersed with several attempts by his uncle to assault or even murder him. Anneslea's story inspired several novels over the years, the most famous being Robert Louis Stevenson's "Kidnapped". Ekirch's history of the affair is vivid and detailed.

Ekirch's book tells the true story which inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write his classic book KIDNAPPED. Truth, as often, is wilder than fiction. The heir to a title and fortune, neglected by his drunken father and vicious stepmother, is turned out to live on the streets and then kidnapped and sold, basically, into slavery. I didn't know that the indentured servants that came to America when it was still "the colonies" were often sent against their will, and in effect owned by whoever bought them on the block. Any bad behavior added to their sentence, so they were in effect sold for far longer than the seven-year term. It took Jemmy Annesley something like twenty years to gain his freedom and return to Britain to claim his title and inheritance. The law cases that ensued, the corruption of the courts and the British rule of Ireland, take your breath away. Ekirch does a brilliant job of probing the seamy lives of dissolute noblemen, and making you feel the appalling injustice of the times. What happened to Annesley was, to some degree, normal--it was a scandal only because it involved the aristocracy. The true scandal is the corruption of the legal system and the rottenness of the society that created it--which is also the society that gave birth to the United States. The story of this one mistreated, orphaned, abused boy, who became a man determined to reclaim what was his, becomes a gripping insight into all of 18th-century Anglo-Irish society, top to bottom. It's a terrific book. I couldn't put it down.