http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/502171278

The heir of Douglas : being a new solution to the old mystery of the Douglas cause, a notorious 18th century scandal over the disputed birthright of Archie Douglas, heir or imposter? : to which is added the secret history of Andrew Stuart and his detections in foreign parts; with a candid character of Lady Jane Douglas, the whole bas'd upon secret records now first made publick; with serious reflexions on the whirligig of fortune

"In simple terms, the mystery of the 'Heir of Douglas' is: was Archibald Stuart really a son of Lady Jane Douglas and Colonel John Stuart and therefore the legal heir to the vast fortune of the Duke of Douglas? ... it was [first] decided that Archibald was an imposter ... When the case went before the House of Lords, the decision was reversed and it was decided that Archibald was the rightful heir. To this day his true identity remains vague ... [the author] presents her own solution, evolving on the way what she calls 'de la Torre's law' of mystery-solving. It is altogether a gay, diverting and expertly- written book of fact and conjecture ..."--From fly-leaves of paper cover. Because of the action of the House of Lords, Archibald James Edward Douglas (1748-1828) became the 1st Baron Douglas of Douglas. "He was to enjoy it for fifty-eight years [i.e. until he died]. He never was granted the honours of the chief of Douglas; he never was made Earl or Duke of Douglas. He sired eight sons, of whom not one perpetuated the name, and four daughters, of whom only one perpetuated his line, now sunk into the family of Home ... Til the day he died, he never knew for certain whether he was in truth the chief of the house of Douglas, or the son of the glass-polisher of Paris"--P. 222-223.

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