Queen James by Gareth Russell

Queen James by Gareth Russell

A BBC History magazine, Esquire, Historia magazine and Waterstones History Book of the Year

'James comes alive in full flamboyance … Russell expertly weaves the bedchamber gossip into the tapestry of a tumultuous reign' SUNDAY TIMES

'Brings the backbiting and power struggles of the Jacobean court to life with wit and vigour' OBSERVER

‘A warts and all story told with compassion’ PHILIPPA GREGORY

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‘Elizabeth was king,

Then James was queen.’ – English author (1603)

James Stuart, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland did not always love wisely, but he never failed to do so boldly.

He fell in love three times – with a Scottish lord, a knight and George Villiers, ‘the handsomest man in the whole world’. He was infatuated three more times – with a Highland earl, a Welsh lord and an English spy.

We know so much about the six wives of Henry VIII, why not the six loves of James I?

This groundbreaking new book puts James – genius, liar, spendthrift, idealist, witch-hunter – and the men he loved at the centre of one of the most dramatic stories in British royal history.

Beginning with the brutal and mysterious murder of his father in 1567, James’s life encompassed kidnapping, witchcraft trials, torture, his mother’s beheading, poison, political radicalism, religious fundamentalism, a queen’s alleged abortion, passionate sex, strong love, stronger hate, espionage, brothels, and a decade-long love affair that ended in assassination.

It is unquestionably one of the most gripping stories in British history, retold in Gareth Russell’s Queen James with scholarship, biographical insight and wit.

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'Books like this don't come along very often. Told with Gareth Russell's characteristic verve and exquisite eye for detail, it is a story so compelling and surprising that it feels as if it has been hiding in plain sight for 400 years. A stunning achievement and a must for history fans everywhere' TRACY BORMAN

EARLY PRAISE FOR QUEEN JAMES

'Books like this don't come along very oftenTold with Gareth Russell's characteristic verve and exquisite eye for detail, it is a story so compelling and surprising that it feels as if it has been hiding in plain sight for 400 years. A stunning achievement and a must for history fans everywhere'

TRACY BORMAN, Chief Historian Historic Royal Palaces

‘Gareth Russell cannot write an uninteresting book and this study of the heir to Elizabeth 1 describes the orphaned boy and lonely youth to better understand the troubled man he became. James is that most interesting of men – one whose best acts contribute to his own destruction.It is a warts and all story told with compassion’

PHILIPPA GREGORY

Powerful and personal, Russell's superb telling of the life and loves of James VI and I enhances our understanding of this largely overlooked, yet hugely significant, British monarch. Thoroughly researched and bursting with delicious details, Queen James is an important book that is both masterful and utterly captivating. This is Russell at his absolute best'

NICOLA TALLIS, historian and author The Young Elizabeth

PRAISE FOR THE PALACE

‘A fascinating chronicle … brilliantly researched…a history of the British monarchy seen through the prism of Hampton Court’ THE TIMES

‘Riotously readable … Russell gives a tender and affectionate account of a royal palace that is less about bricks and mortar than the men and women who down the centuries have breathed it into glamorous, scandalous and tragic life’ MAIL ON SUNDAY

‘Scintillating…it’s hard to imagine anyone writing a better version of the book Russell sets out to write than the racy delight we have here’ SPECTATOR

'If a house could gossip, this is the book that Hampton Court would whisper. An enjoyable and readable stroll through 500 years of Hampton Court history: royal residents, common visitors, thieves, invaders and ghosts’ PHILIPPA GREGORY

Gareth Russell is an historian and broadcaster. His books include Young and Damned and Fair, The Ship of Dreams, and Do Let’s Have Another Drink. He is the host of the podcast Single Malt History with Gareth Russell and he divides his time between Belfast and London.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780008660857
ISBN 10	0008660859
Title	Queen James
Author	Gareth Russell
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	HarperCollins Publishers
Year published	2025-02-27
Number of pages	496
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.