This work investigates how the early English Enlightenment grappled with the persistent problems of deception, religious fanaticism, and the difficulty of discerning truth in a rapidly changing political and intellectual landscape. Mark Knights, a professor of history, utilizes a wide array of primary sources including pamphlets, trial records, and political discourse to analyze how contemporaries identified and categorized 'disguise' in public life. He argues that the fear of hidden agendas and imposture was not merely a byproduct of paranoia but a central feature of the era's emerging critical culture.

Scholars recognize this text as a rigorous examination of the intersection between political anxiety and the development of critical inquiry in early modern England. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which provides a detailed look at the mechanisms of public discourse during the period.