The Mirror of Great Britain
A Life of James VI & I
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd
Published:28th Aug '25
Should be back in stock very soon
A major reassessment of one of Britain’s most important monarchs
'After finishing this beguiling book, there seems no point in reading anything else. It’s the quintessence of James; rather like his big brain, it flows everywhere and is impossible to contain. In research, analysis and imagination, it’s a masterpiece... In [Jackson's] mirror one views a life perfectly rendered — complete, complex and awe-inspiring' - Gerard de Groot, The Times
James 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, James was a ‘cradle king’ whose long reigns encompassed extraordinary dramas, including his abduction in the ‘Ruthven Raid’ in 1582 and his attempted assassination in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. In his lifetime, James often confounded contemporaries’ expectations while his posthumous reputation has been distorted by crude stereotypes.
Closely attentive to James’s own words — in numerous publications, manuscript musings, topical verse and private correspondence — Clare Jackson's wonderful new book tells the story of this highly unusual monarch with great flair and insight.
A wide-ranging and insightful new biography... Jackson is an assured guide, offering both an astute psychological portrait of the king and a shrewd political history of his reigns... This judicious, perceptive and empathetic study lays down a robust challenge to biographers of rival candidates -- Peter Marshall * Literary Review *
After finishing this beguiling book, there seems no point in reading anything else. It’s the quintessence of James; rather like his big brain, it flows everywhere and is impossible to contain. In research, analysis and imagination, it’s a masterpiece... In [Jackson's] mirror one views a life perfectly rendered — complete, complex and awe-inspiring -- Gerard De Groot * The Times *
A terrific book... an impressive biography, which combines a variety of productive approaches to the life of James into one scintillating work -- Daniel Brooks * The Telegraph *
A monarch for the ages... Jackson shows her respect and affection for James in this highly readable history. A robust history of the first—and ‘by far, its most interesting’—king of Great Britain * Kirkus Reviews *
A detailed account of our most multifarious monarch... Clare Jackson’s excellent biography of James VI and I suggests a man who was accomplished at playing a variety of different roles -- Stuart Kelly * Scotland on Sunday *
It’s 400 years since James’ death. Clare Jackson’s is the third book in six months to mark the anniversary and is undoubtedly the best… She understands the importance of looking at James through his own words -- Mark Bostridge * The Oldie *
Impressive… a terrific scholarly work -- Stephen Bush * The FT Weekend *
Fascinating... The book never loses sight, however, of its chief reflection.... It is James as a genius, albeit a flawed one, who is reflected back in this exceptional and thought-provoking study -- Gareth Russell * Engelsberg Ideas *
Jackson gives a vivid sense of how James might have looked into the future and anticipated what did indeed take place in the late 1630s... This is a historiographically convincing version of the court -- Michael Questier * The Times Literary Supplement *
This is a wonderful read, a very clever book both in structure and argument, and at last a book that recognises the last great humanist ruler with high ideals and a good deal of pragmatism... This is the biography he has long deserved -- John Morrill * The Catholic Herald *
ISBN: 9780241611272
Dimensions: 240mm x 161mm x 35mm
Weight: 1005g
560 pages