Cultural depictions of James II of England

Last updated January 08, 2026

James II of England is a character in the novel The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo. James appears in Geoffrey Trease's 1947 novel, Trumpets in the West, which depicts him as a villain.^[1] He was portrayed by Josef Moser in the 1921 Austrian silent film Das grinsende Gesicht and by Sam De Grasse in the 1928 silent film The Man Who Laughs .

He has also been portrayed by Gibb McLaughlin in the 1926 silent film Nell Gwynne, based on a novel by Joseph Shearing, Lawrence Anderson in the 1934 film Nell Gwyn, Vernon Steele in the 1935 film Captain Blood , based on the novel by Rafael Sabatini, Douglas Matthews in the 1938 BBC TV drama Thank You, Mr. Pepys! , Henry Oscar in the 1948 film Bonnie Prince Charlie, John Westbrook in the 1969 BBC TV series The First Churchills , Guy Henry in the 1995 film England, My England , the story of the composer Henry Purcell, and Charlie Creed-Miles in the 2003 BBC TV miniseries Charles II: The Power & the Passion .

The squabbling surrounding James's kingship, the Monmouth Rebellion, the Glorious Revolution, James's abdication, and William of Orange's subsequent accession to the throne are themes in Neal Stephenson's 2003 novel Quicksilver .

References

↑ "Books for Young People: Trumpets in the West". The Saturday Review , November 15, 1947, (p.56)

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[1] "Books for Young People: Trumpets in the West". The Saturday Review , November 15, 1947, (p.56)

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v t e Cultural depictions of English and British monarchs
Kingdom of the English 886–1066	Alfred the Great Edward the Elder Æthelflæd Ælfweard Athelstan the Glorious ¹ Edmund the Magnificent ¹ Eadred ¹ Eadwig the Fair ¹ Edgar the Peaceable ¹ Edward the Martyr Æthelred the Unready Sweyn Forkbeard Edmund Ironside Cnut ¹ Harold Harefoot Harthacnut Edward the Confessor Harold Godwinson Edgar the Ætheling
Kingdom of England 1066–1649	William I William II Henry I Stephen Matilda Henry II ² Henry the Young King Richard I John ² Henry III ² Edward I ² Edward II ² Edward III ² Richard II ² Henry IV ² Henry V ² Henry VI ² Edward IV ² Edward V ² Richard III ² Henry VII ² Henry VIII ² Edward VI ² Jane ² Mary I ²with Philip ² Elizabeth I ² James I ³ Charles I ³
Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland 1653–1659	Oliver Cromwell ⁴ Richard Cromwell ⁴
Kingdom of England 1660–1707	Charles II ³ James II ³ William III and Mary II ³ Anne ³
Kingdom of Scotland 843–1707 (traditional)	Kenneth I MacAlpin Donald I Constantine I (II) Áed Giric Eochaid Donald II Constantine II (III) Malcolm I Indulf Dub Cuilén Amlaíb Kenneth II Constantine III (IV) Kenneth III Malcolm II Duncan I Macbeth Lulach Malcolm III Canmore Donald III Duncan II Donald III Edgar Alexander I David I Malcolm IV William I the Lion Alexander II Alexander III Margaret John Robert I David II Robert II Robert III James I James II James III James IV James V Mary I James VI ⁵ Charles I ⁵ Charles II ⁵ James VII ⁵ Mary II ⁵ William III ⁵ Anne ⁵
British monarchs after the Acts of Union 1707	Anne George I George II George III George IV William IV Victoria Edward VII George V Edward VIII George VI Elizabeth II Charles III
¹Overlord of Britain. ²Also ruler of Ireland. ³Also ruler of Scotland and Ireland. ⁴ Lord Protector. ⁵Also ruler of England and Ireland. Debatable or disputed rulers are in italics.