Customer Reviews

King James VI of Scotland & I of England

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At the end of this biography, the author aptly summarizes King James as "the most human of our kings." James VI and I was a complex, contradictory, and altogether fascinating character. His life is worthy of study; that said, I do not recommend this particular book.

It is well researched and not without intriguing tidbits, but the writing style provides too serious a distraction to study. It is exceedingly disjointed. Paragraphs are strings of often unrelated and badly sequenced sentences, full of odd digressions. The narrative does not flow any better as it moves from one paragraph to another. The prose itself lacks clarity. Misplaced modifiers are common, punctuation is dubious, and a careless use of pronouns often creates confusion.

What I found most distressing about this book was its consistently salacious tone. It lingers on the king's alleged homosexuality, his coarse sense of humor, and his interest in other people's sexual activities. The author's voice provides an apt frame for this portrayal. At one point he describes Lady Frances, wife of Robert Carr, as follows: "She was beautiful, but her portrait at Woburn reveals her sensuality and depravity. Beneath the curves of her dress can be seen her breasts, ripe and luscious." The reader must wade through a great deal of this.

If you are looking for a solid, well-written biography, I would recommend any of the following:

King James, by Pauline Croft
Great Britain's Solomon by Maurice Lee., Jr.
The Cradle King, by Alan Stewart
The Making of a King, by Caroline Bingham
After Elizabeth, by Leanda de Lisle