Dynasty: The Stuarts: 1560-1807 [Hardcover]

John Macleod (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0312272065 | ISBN-13: 978-0312272067 | Edition: 1st

In 1630, the ascension of King James IV of Scotland to the English throne, whereupon he became known as James I, finally united Britain under one rule. If that was not enough, his legacy in Western tradition was secured when he commission the standardized translation of the Holy Bible that still bears his names. his descendants, the Stuart dynasty, ruled into the next century, and their family tree includes today's British monarchy. But these accomplishment offer only half the story of King James I, who frequently indulged in same-sex liaisons. As John Macleod chronicles in Dynasty, his new account of the Stuarts, the debauchery of James and his court set an example that would color virtually every Stuart monarch to come.

Stuart Kings were stabbed in cellars, hacked to death in barns, repeatedly deposed. A common molehill spelled the end for the bold "King Billy." James II of Scotland was killed by his own cannon. Charles I enjoys the dubious distinction of being the only English monarch ever executed. The sexual voracity of Charles II brought the throne scores of illegitimate children. From the serial husbands of Mary Queen of Scots (herself beheaded on the order of her cousin, Elizabeth I) to the eccentric Stuart Cardinal with a taste for young men, Macleod takes the reader on an irreverent journey through one of the most calamitous dynasties in the history of the English throne.

But despite the farce and tumult of the Stuarts, there emerged in the United Kingdom during their reign new thoughts and institutions, including the foundations of a modern democracy. Macleod does not simply revel in the tabloid exploits of a few English kings, he weaves a tale of fascinating and flawed rulers within the context of their own politically charged times. Dynasty charts the delicate and sometimes disastrous, often hilarious, interplay between the fate of nations and that of the personalities who rule them.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Stuart, or Stewart, dynasty ruled Scotland and later also England for a very long time. The first Stuart king, Robert II, headed Scotland in the 14th century, and James VI of Scotland became James I of England in 1603 after the death of Elizabeth. Even after James II of England (who also was James VII of Scotland) was deposed in a parliamentary coup in 1688, one branch of the family never abandoned its claim to the throne until the last of the so-called Pretenders died in 1807. They were a fascinating crew, and, as Macleod (No Great Mischief if You Fall; Highlanders: A History of the Gaels) points out, every English monarch subsequent to James I is descended from him and, therefore, from his mother, the notorious Mary, Queen of Scots. The author is a journalist who writes for a Glasgow newspaper, and his prose has a journalist's snap and flair. Unfortunately, he commits errors that a professional historian would have been trained to avoid. For example, his claim that before the Protestant Reformation "every science had been gagged and bound by the Roman Church and the dead hold of tradition" shows a remarkable ignorance of the history of science. Likewise, Macleod's anti-Catholic stance is tiresome. Macleod certainly entertains as much as he informs, but, in the end, those interested in a history of the Stuart dynasty would be better advised to go to that fine old sprig of Scottish enlightenment, the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Illus. not seen by PW. (Apr.)Forecast: The British monarchy and its history seem to be of enduring interest, but Macleod is not up to the standard of Antonia Fraser, and this won't sell like her books do.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The Stuarts are justifiably remembered more for their failures than their accomplishments. The "founder" of this ill-fated dynasty, Mary Queen of Scots, lost her throne, her freedom, and finally her head when she schemed one too many times against her English cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. Mary's grandson, Charles I, blundered into a civil war with supporters of Parliament; he too ended his life on the block. Macleod is a Scottish journalist who writes for the Glasgow Herald. In his survey of Stuart monarchs and pretenders, he acknowledges their destructive hubris and outright incompetence. But he also shows that the Britain they presided over nurtured cultural brilliance and critical political evolution that led to a more broadly based society. The author effectively weaves his portraits of individual Stuarts into the broader milieu of social and political turmoil. This is a fast-paced and easily digestible popular history of a series of rulers who usually zigged when they should have zagged. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312272065
• ISBN-13: 978-0312272067
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,688,276 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Only Average, at Best, April 28, 2002

By 

Stephen M. Kerwick (Wichita, KS United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dynasty: The Stuarts: 1560-1807 (Hardcover)

MacLeod's book is best in the areas of least interest, namely the early Scottish Stuarts. Unfortunately, it is at its weakest in discussing the family's 17th Century English kings, who provide far more interesting subjects. Nonetheless, MacLeoed approaches them in a rather cursory and one dimensional manner which leaves a motivated reader rather unsatisfied. His closest approach to approval of any of these is for Charles II, but even then he damns this most fascinating and underrated of monarchs (in view of the challenges he faced) with faint praise.

More troubling, MacLeod demonstrates an open and excessive anti-Catholic bias rarely exhibited over the last half century. In doing so, he devalues the more modern and tolerant approaches to religious policy desired by the later Stuart kings, but which were frustrated by parliament and revolution. At the same time, he is slavish in his devotion to such premodern bigots as Cromwell and William of Orange. Still, he is no Macauley in this enterprise and I would recommend, instead, the second volume of Simon Schama's splendid History of Britain to the reader seeking a casual treatment of this subject area. Schama goes into almost as much depth as MacLeod, but is a vastly better writer and is considerably fairer in his evaluations of both individuals and issues.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Get Your Dreich On!, January 14, 2008

By 

Poniplaizy (Mount Joy, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dynasty: The Stuarts: 1560-1807 (Hardcover)

I've always been fascinated by the Stuarts, and have done my fair share of reading about them, so this book was a shoo-in on my Xmas list. And I'm glad I got it! In no particular order, here are my observations:

*The book is written from a Scottish perspective, which I liked because it gave some new angles. In most books the Stuarts seem to burst full-blown on the scene, with little space given to their background and history in Scotland. Indeed, Scotland itself usually gets only a cameo appearance here and there, and then only in the context of its perpetual alliance with France. This book remedies that, devoting a good bit of detail to the Stewart/Stuart family history and their relationship to their mother country. The role of Scottish affairs in the politics of the day is also treated, which gave me some new insights, which I very much liked.

*The book is very readable, dealing with the Stuarts in terms of their personalities and personal lives more than their role in politics. If you want an exhaustive treatment of the political aspects of their reigns, this might not suit you, but it does bring the monarchs to life.

*The author presents the strengths and weaknesses of the Stuarts pretty forcefully, but without telling the reader what to think. His description of James II, for example, begins with a repeating litany of how "stupid" (his word) James was, but then compliments James on his eye for detail and military ability. It's left for the reader to decide what outweighs what. That can be a little disjointing, but in the end I appreciated it because it will make the reader want to check out other books to help him/her make up his/her mind.

*The chapter on Charles II points up, yet again, the crying need for a new biography of Catherine of Braganza. I just cannot understand why she always gets glossed over, when she lived a long, eventful, and interesting life. Just for the fact that she introduced tea drinking to England, you would think she'd be sacred to the British, but somehow she keeps getting swept under the rug. I keep hoping to see someone write a bio, but it has yet to happen.

*There are a few Scottish words sprinkled through the book that American readers will need to look up. I won't spoil it for you, but just have a dictionary or Web connection somewhere in the house for when you come across one.

Inevitably, a book this size can really only give a slightly detailed overview of the monarchs. I wish it could've been twice as long, with twice the detail, because it was a really enjoyable read. I would recommend for a Stuart newbie that you read this but also be sure to read a book from an English perspective to get a fuller picture. You won't be sorry you bought this one, though.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars a stunning bit of propaganda, April 14, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Dynasty: The Stuarts: 1560-1807 (Hardcover)

No question that, from a modern prospective, the vast majority of Stuart monarchs were tragi-comic characters. What is inexcusable is that this book was published with all its anti-Catholic balderdash. It is a motley collection of undocumented assertions and I should have known not to buy this book when I saw it had no bibliography.