Dr Toby Osborne was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, and prepared his DPhil thesis under the supervision of Professor Sir John Elliott. He has taught at Durham since 1995. This is his first book.

• List of figures; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Names and dates; Introduction; Part I. Dynastic Power: the House of Savoy and the Scaglia di Verrua: 1. Dynastic power: Savoy and Europe; 2. Power and patronage: the Scaglia di Verrua in the service of Savoy; Part II. The Treaty of Monzón, 1624–7: 3. Savoyard diplomacy: Alessandro Scaglia and the mission to Paris, 1624–6; 4. Pragmatic diplomacy: England, France and Spain; Part III. The War for Mantua and Monferrato, 1628–32: 5. The war, 1628–31; 6. After the war, 1631–2; Part IV. Alessandro Scaglia: Exile and Savoy During the 1630s: 7. Power and patronage: Alessandro Scaglia in exile; 8. The House of Savoy and the Scaglia di Verrua: dynastic instability and civil war, 1632–42; Conclusion; Appendix; Bibliography; Index.

'… offers a penetrating and persuasive vision of early modern Europe.' Scotland on Sunday