Review
"...a valuable and accessible study which sheds useful further light on the dimensions of the British problem in early modern Scotland, England, and Ireland." Renaissance and Reformation
"Dawson's thorough research and clear writing style makes reading this biography easy, as well as a joy. Her book is a worthwhile addition to Cambridge University Press's long-running series on early modern British history, and is essential reading on early modern Scotland." Anglican and Episcopal History
"A welcome addition to Scottish Reformation studies, this work sheds new light on the murky politics in Scotland at the time of the Queen of Scots. Upper-division undergraduates and above." Choice
"A key aim of Jane E.A. Dawson's book is to explore the 'new British history'--the history of the mutual influences of the three kingdoms--via the career of a man who linked all three. It succeeds triumphantly. This is a work of mature scholarship, rooted in a wide range of manuscript and printed sources and in deep reflection on the early modern 'British problem'.... This book deserves to be widely influential in sixteenth-century studies.... succinct and masterful." American Historical Review
"This book is a valuable contribution to the study of a crucial period in the formation of what became known as the British Isles. Too often this period is discussed in separate studies of England and Scotland, and England and Ireland. Dawson's work should ensure that the interconnectedness of all three areas, long before 1603, cannot be ignored in the future." Sixteenth Century Journal
"Dawson's recent work is a noteworthy addition to early modern Scotland and British studies." Canadian Journal of History
"This is a valuable book in its own right, and a fine example of how "British history" can be written." Journal of Modern History
"Dr. Dawson is to be congratulated for her well-researched and masterly study of Argyll as a 'Britis' statesman, exploring his triple role as Gaelic chief, Scottish statesman, and British strategist. The volume is agreeably produced...The work is a welcome contribution to the 'new' approach to early-modern British history." The Catholic Historical Review James Kirk, University of Glasgow
Book Description
During his brief political career, Archibald Campbell, 5th earl of Argyll (1530 73) played a crucial role in the mid-century upheavals in Scottish and British politics. This is a definitive study on Argyll, a major contribution to Scottish political history, and a significant new contribution to the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots. Study of his career switches significantly the axis of mid-Tudor studies as well as transforming the study of the dynamics of Scottish history. Important European contexts and resonances are also explored.