A panoramic history of the arrival of the Stuarts, and how the reign of King James I saw England reach new corners of the globe.

‘Spectacularly good’ PETER FRANKOPAN
‘Fascinating’ THE TIMES
‘Game-changing’ JOHN GUY, LITERARY REVIEW
‘Gripping' LUCY WORSLEY
‘Scintillating’ SUZANNAH LIPSCOMB

A panoramic history of the arrival of the Stuarts, and how the reign of King James I saw England reach new corners of the globe

In 1603, England was on the verge of crisis. Enter King James.

Four centuries ago James Stuart came to the throne with a dream of a united and global Great Britain. His reign saw expeditions reach Russia, India, Persia, China, Japan and the shores of the New World, while the East India Company grew ever closer to the crown. In this epic and panoramic history, Anna Whitelock casts the long-overlooked monarch in a new light – and explores how his reign sowed the seeds of the future British Empire.

Details

ISBN13: 9781408863534
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 448
Edition:
Publication Date:
Publisher: McSweeney's Publishing
Publication City, Country: London, United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 19.6(H)x12.6(L)x3(W)336
Weight (gm): 336

Author Biography

Anna Whitelock is Professor of the History of Modern Monarchy and Executive Dean of the School of Communication and Creativity at City St George’s, University of London. She is an international media commentator on monarchy, public history, and the Tudors and Stuarts. Her previous books include Mary Tudor: England’s First Queen and Elizabeth’s Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queen’s Court. She lives in Cambridge.

@AnnaWhitelock www.annawhitelock.co.uk

Reviews

Well-informed, fluid and fascinating -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times *
A refreshing break with the Anglo-centricity of so much recent writing on James VI and I -- Michael Questier * TLS *
Anna Whitelock proves a sure-footed and eloquent guide to James’s reign . . . What is striking when one reads this primer is that, exactly four centuries after James’s death, Britain finds itself once again playing catch-up, uncertain of its place in the world, and lacking the kind of identity that was forged in the seventeenth century -- Paul Lay * Oldie *
A majestic, brilliant account of the birth of an empire. Spectacularly good -- PETER FRANKOPAN, author of The Silk Roads
Does away with conventional royal biography. This rich and evocative book takes us far from Whitehall in pursuit of James’ ambitious vision for a united, global Britain. Moving from the plantations of Ireland and trading posts in Indonesia to the courts of Japan and Russia, the book shows us the strange birth of an empire and pushes beyond anglocentric history -- Alice Hunt * History Today, Books of the Year *
With its gripping storytelling combined with historical rigour, The Sun Rising is just the right kind of zesty treatment a neglected period needs. Fresh and fabulous -- LUCY WORSLEY
Richly evocative and brilliantly provocative, The Sun Rising transports its readers far from Whitehall in pursuit of James I’s vision for a united, global Britain. From the plantations of Ireland and trading posts in Indonesia to the courts of Russia and Japan, Anna Whitelock’s compelling narrative looks afresh at James I, and at the idea of Britain that emerged during his reign – and which still resonates today -- ALICE HUNT, author of Republic: Britain's Revolutionary Decade, 1649-1660
Stereotypes are out; new ways of defining James and his world are in . . . Whitelock’s exploration of how political, cultural and commercial interests interlocked in James’s policymaking, so expanding conceptions of state power, is game-changing -- JOHN GUY * Literary Review *
Less a biographical study of the first Stuart king and more an ambitious, evocative “reframing” of James I’s reign, which attempts to show how he laid the foundations for the future empire -- Mark Broatch * New Zealand Herald, Books of the Year *
Does a terrific job of communicating the ways in which James and his time wereboth incredibly like and unlike our own -- Stephen Bush * Financial Times *
A panoramic view of Jacobean England . . . Studded throughout are fascinating episodes . . . Naturally, given Whitelock’s experience, the book is beautifully written by an author with an eye for detail and anecdote. In each chapter, Jacobean-era personalities, from Pocahontas to adventurers William Adams and John Saris to mariner Nathaniel Courthope, are brought to stunning life: James’s world emerges as a colourful and glittering one -- Steven Veerapen * The Historian *
Covers what was a “golden age” of exploration, navigation, trade and propaganda, beginning with James’ accession to the English throne in 1603 … What emerges is a much-needed panoramic view of Jacobean Britain as it was projected across the globe . . . Whitelock provides a restorative to tiresome preconceptions about an often-maligned monarch . . . A variety of Stuart personalities appear in Whitelock’s account, including the outward-looking merchant Thomas Smythe, the American princess Matoaka (Pocahontas), the inventor John Harington, and the adventurer John Saris . . . They deserve, as Whitelock makes clear, to be as well-known as the courtiers, artists and adventurers of the Elizabethan and Henrician eras . . . Whitelock’s James is the king as he was in his day: confident, canny and colourful -- Steven Veerapen * History Today *
A picturesque portrait of the nascent Great Britain in an extraordinary age of unification, expansion and commercial experimentation. With sympathy and vigour, Anna Whitelock showcases many facets of this emerging world at home and overseas, ruled over by a fascinating monarch too often neglected and misunderstood by posterity -- MALCOLM GASKILL, author of The Ruin of All Witches
A very lucid, exciting and well-researched narrative of a part of British history which has been relatively neglected and yet is of vital and enduring importance for the development of Britain -- RONALD HUTTON, author of The Witch
With shrewd reasoning and in lucid prose, Professor Anna Whitelock refuses the vision of James VI and I as an insular caretaker king, uncomfortably sandwiched between the glittering Elizabeth and the ill-fated Charles. Here, instead, is a focal reign in which the British reached tendrils out into the corners of the globe and entwined themselves with the history of the world. A scintillating and vital read -- SUZANNAH LIPSCOMB, author of Six Queens: The Wives of Henry VIII
Fascinating, razor-sharp and shot through with uncanny resonances for the interesting times in which we live, The Sun Rising is the brilliantly realised story of James I and the men who, under his rule, sailed the world in search of power and profit. With wit and acute insight, in a page-turning read, Anna Whitelock shows us the seventeenth-century making of ‘Global Britain’ -- HELEN CASTOR, author of She-Wolves
Big, bold, bracing history that expertly captures the energy, ambition and ruthlessness by which a fledgling Britain took wing and then proceeded to feather its nest. Anna Whitelock gives us wide vistas, sharp insights and immersive prose; I can almost taste the salt and smell the sulphur -- JESSIE CHILDS, author of The Siege of Loyalty House
Intended as a 'provocation' to rethink established narratives, The Sun Rising takes readers from Jamestown to Archangel and from Mughal India to Pulo Run in modern-day Indonesia. Assembling a large cast of explorers, envoys and entrepreneurs, Whitelock's new book vividly underscores the vitality and global ambitions of early seventeenth-century Englishmen and their first Stuart king -- CLARE JACKSON, author of Devil-Land