Thomas Butler, earl of Ossory, 1634-80

A Privileged Witness

Daniel D. Jordan

“The news of the untimely death of the 46-year-old Thomas Butler, earl of Ossory, left bereft King Charles II and Queen Catherine, who ‘hath wept often’. The future kings James II and William III of Orange, whose marriages Ossory had witnessed, were also devastated by his passing. On 30 July 1680 a ‘malignant fever’ had struck down Ossory, the subject of this carefully crafted, meticulously researched and well-written political biography … Jordan’s biography deftly presents the public face and activities of Ossory ... [It] will become the standard political biography of a privileged aristocrat from Ireland who played on the British and European stages and whose premature death prevented him from realising his full potential as the head of the Ormond dynasty.” Jane Ohlmeyer, The English Historical Review, 2023