Imagining the king's death

Description:

"It is high treason in British law to 'imagine' the king's death. But after the execution of Louis XVI in 1793, everyone in Britain must have found themselves imagining that the same fate might befall George III. How easy was it to distinguish between fantasizing about the death of George and 'imagining' it, in the legal sense of 'intending' or 'designing'? John Barrell examines this question in the context of the political trials of the mid-1790s and the controversies they generated. He shows how the law of treason was adapted in the years following Louis's death to punish what was acknowledged to be a 'modern' form of treason unheard of when the law had been framed. The result, he argues, was the invention of a new, an imaginary, a 'figurative' treason, by which the question of who was imagining the king's death, the supposed traitors or those who charged them with treason, became inescapable."--BOOK JACKET.

subjects: Assassination attempts,  English literature,  History,  History and criticism,  In literature,  Kings and rulers in literature,  Politics and government,  Politics and literature,  Regicides,  Regicides in literature,  Treason,  Treason in literature,  Trials (Treason),  George iii, king of great britain, 1738-1820,  English literature, history and criticism, 18th century,  Trials (treason), great britain,  Regicide,  Great britain, politics and government

People: George III King of Great Britain (1738-1820)

Places: Great Britain

Times: 1789-1820,  18th century