Michael Mullett reconsiders, in the light of recent r attlee”s* and of altering perceptions of the English past, the events of the crucial years 1678-1688; from the Restoration era through the exclusion crisis, and subsequent reign of James to the `Glorious Revolution” of 1688. He focuses on the central role of James, Duke of York, and from 1685-1688, King of England, but locates the growing difficulties of his reign within the wider context of political and religious trends.