The Mirror of Great Britain: A Life of James VI & I

A major reassessment of one of Britain’s most important monarchsA Financial Times History Book of the Year 2025'After finishing this beguiling book, there seems no point in reading anything else...In research, analysis and imagination, it’s a masterpiece' - Gerard de Groot, The TimesJames VI & I, who died 400 years ago, was one of Britain’s most consequential and interesting monarchs, not least in creating the British monarchy itself by joining the English and Scottish thrones.A major intellectual, James's preoccupations ranged from witchcraft and theological controversy to hunting, diplomacy, poetry and sartorial fashion.The 'Mirror of Great Britain' was a spectacular jewel that gave symbolic endorsement to James's vision of British union, but mirrors themselves - with their limitless capacity to magnify, illuminate and distort - supplied James with one of his favourite literary metaphors. Ruler of Scotland for nearly four decades before his accession to the English throne in 1603, Ja