Stuarts [Paperback]

John Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 23, 2006

When James VI of Scotland succeeded Elizabeth as James I on the throne of England in 1603, the Stuarts became the first dynasty to rule Britain as a whole. The problems that James and his successors encountered in reconciling their kingdoms led to tensions and revolts in Scotland, Ireland and England itself, leading to the Civil War under Charles I between 1642 and 1646 and to the king's subsequent execution. While Charles II, restored after Cromwell's Interregnum, died on the throne, his brother James II quickly alienated much of the political nation and had to flee aboad after an invasion by his son-in-law, who became William III. Following William's death, James's daughter Anne presided over a period of victory on the Continent but bitter internal tension at home. Her death without an heir in 1714 brought in the Hanoverians. In The Stuarts, John Miller looks at the individual monarchs who made up this remarkable dynasty. He also examines the history of the dynasty as a whole, in terms of the Stuarts' identity and agenda as a ruling house.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The Stuarts lost the family business twice in a century, saddling them with a tarnished reputation as historical bankrupts. In this biography of the Restoration Stuarts (Charles II and James II), Miller says that opinion is too harsh and overly colored by the contrast with the supposedly more glorious preceding dynasty, the Tudors. Holding forth a more positive assessment of the Stuarts' century-long run on, and occasionally from, the throne, Miller tacks their fortunes to the two principal political problems of seventeenth-century England. From James I's ascension in 1603 to the death of Queen Anne in 1714, the Stuart monarchs did better or worse depending on how they handled parliamentary erosions of their power and in cajoling and often forcing Scotland and Ireland into the English orbit to form the polity of Britain. An academic at the University of London, Miller covers this material fluidly, enthusiastically, and without clouding central points with scholastic trivia. For newcomers to such Stuarts as Charles I, Miller exhibits the invaluable quality of readability infused with fairness of tone. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Book Description

Ruling Britain for over a century from the accession of James I in 1603 to the death without an heir of Queen Anne in 1714, the Stuarts reigned over a time of high political and religion tension. This included the English Civil War, the execution of Charles I in 1649 and the eleven-year Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell, before the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. The Stuarts were the first dynasty to rule all three British kingdoms, but tensions between England, Scotland and Ireland brought many of their problems. The Stuarts is a dramatic history that takes a close look at all of the individual rulers as well at the dynasty as a whole.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Hambledon Continuum (August 23, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852855452
• ISBN-13: 978-1852855451
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,022,955 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Could be better?, January 1, 2011

By 

Jo - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Stuarts (Hardcover)

Anything to do with the British monarchy that is in a book I am bound to love, even the boring bits which Miller seems love he talks non stop in every chapter about religion (which I admit I quite liked) and also taxes and admin stuff which I don't love so much. Also to me this book is a bit patchy I feel as if Miller took great interest in some areas and skimmed over others, for example it maybe just me but I feel he barely mentions Mary or Anne, quite coincidentially they are the only two female Stuarts. In the chapther about William and Mary he talks about William but with Mary he's not negligent of key events through her reign but neglectful of why they are key, for example he mentions she acts as regent when William goes to war, what he doesn't write is that despite the lack of cofidence she had in herself she was a very skilled decisive ruler. As for Anne, well a good last few pages of the chapter he's not even talking about her he's talking about George I the monarch after her. I was just really disappointed what started out as a promising read went downhill at the last stretch. I can't however deny Miller's passion.