MIKE JAY is the author of The Air Loom Gang, Emperors of Dreams: Drugs in the Nineteenth Century, Blue Tide: The Search for Soma and Artificial Paradise: A Drugs Reader, and editor of 1900: A Fin-de-Siecle Reader. Mike's latest book, which will be published in May by Yale, is a global history of mescaline - you can find out more about this and his other work at https://mikejay.net
A gem of a book . . . was Despard a hero or villain? In answering this question, Jay has also produced a powerful and energetic study of the political complexity of the 1790s. - Sunday Telegraph Compelling, absorbing and wide-ranging . . . Jay weaves a complex variety of themes, many with overtly topical resonances, into Despard's journey from hero to traitor. - Sunday Times A riveting account of the life and times of Britain's first terrorist. - Independent on Sunday Books of the Year Beautifully crafted . . . as thrilling as any novel. The Colonel's fast-paced adventures are matched by Jay's equally breathless narrative. - Good Book Guide