A major reassessment of one of Britain’s most important monarchs.

A Financial Times History Book of the Year 2025.

A Times Best Book of the Year 2025.

A History Today Best Book of the Year 2025.

A Royal Academy Magazine Best Book of the Year 2025.

‘After finishing this captivating book, there seems to be no point in reading anything else... In research, analysis, and imagination, it’s a masterpiece’ - Gerard de Groot, The Times.

James VI & I, who died 400 years ago, was one of Britain’s most influential and fascinating monarchs, not least for creating the British monarchy itself by uniting the English and Scottish crowns. A major intellectual figure, James's interests ranged from witchcraft and theological debates to hunting, diplomacy, poetry, and fashion. The 'Mirror of Great Britain' was a stunning jewel that symbolically endorsed James's vision of British unity, but mirrors — with their endless ability to magnify, illuminate, and distort — provided James with one of his favorite literary metaphors.

Ruler of Scotland for nearly forty years before ascending to the English throne in 1603, James was a ‘cradle king’ whose long reign included extraordinary events, such as his kidnapping during the ‘Ruthven Raid’ in 1582 and his attempted assassination in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. During his lifetime, James often challenged the expectations of his contemporaries, while his posthumous reputation has been shaped by crude stereotypes.

Carefully analyzing James’s own words — in numerous publications, handwritten musings, topical poetry, and private letters — Clare Jackson's wonderful new book tells the story of this highly unusual monarch with great skill and insight.

Pages: 560, Dimensions: 16.6x16.6cm