About book The Cradle King: The Life Of James VI And I, The First Monarch Of A United Great Britain (2003)
James (VI or I, depending on your perspective) was very much a King of two reigns - his first as King of Scotland and his second as King of a somewhat less-than-united England and Scotland. In the same vein this book is very much one of two halves. The first half of the book is almost entirely about events in Scotland; when Elizabeth dies and James becomes King of both England and Scotland the focus almost entirely shifts south and Scotland is scarcely mentioned again. Considering how disruptive and turbulent James' early years in Scotland were, I doubt things suddenly calmed down so dramatically once the King crossed the border, but you wouldn't get any other sense reading this book.It must be said, when discussing the religious and political changes of the era, both in Scotland, England and Europe as a whole, this book is excellent. But again it falls down when looking at the more personal aspects of James' reign - important events such as the deaths of Prince Henry, Queen Anne and James himself are hardly dealt with, discussed in just a few sentences. I cannot be the only reader who is often more interested in the personal than the political - I realise the two can rarely be separated so easily when talking of monarchs, but this is after all a biography of James, not a history of the Jacobean era.So an interesting read but overall, a disappointing one. I felt Stewart relied too heavily in places on quoting from original sources; again, I recognise the value of these from an historical perspective, but a little less regurgitation of arcane quotations and a little more analysis or discussion might have been welcome.
The Cradle King is an academic study of James Vi and I of England - the first monarch of a United Great Britain. In many spots, the book is incredibly informative and entertaining but I found that some of the chapters were a bit ponderous. The sections involving religion were important to the historical narrative but I felt that they were written with less flair than the political intrigues covered. Overall, I would recommend this book to someone with an intense interest in British history but it might be a little too slow for the casual reader. Enjoy!
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