The narrative has enjoyed an unusual double life— the entire work as a sophisticated satire of politics and human nature, and Part I alone as a timeless children’s fantasy.
The Glorious Revolution. During the 1680s, the English political landscape experienced a series of upheavals that would determine its rough outlines for decades to come. This disruption culminated in 1688 with the “Bloodless” or “Glorious” Revolution, in which the English Parliament replaced James II, England’s last Catholic king, with his Protestant daughter, Mary, and her husband, Prince William of Orange, who became King William III of England. As in 1660 when Charles II had been restored to the throne, Parliament again asserted its right to decide the succession of the English throne, but this time it did so in a way that would have lasting constitutional implications. The offer of the crown to William and Mary was made on conditions—listed in a Bill of Rights—that limited the Crown’s power. Among other provisions, Catholics were barred from occupying the throne; the king was no longer allowed to suspend laws that banned non- Anglicans from filling government positions (including Parliament), nor was he allowed to impose levies or to keep a standing army without Parliament’s consent; and parliamentary elections and proceedings were to be free of interference by the Crown or the courts.
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