James I (Penguin Monarchs)

'First and foremost, he survived, and that was no mean achievement'

James's reign marked one of the rare breaks in England's monarchy. Already James VI of Scotland, on Elizabeth I's death he became James I of England and Ireland, uniting the British Isles for the first time and founding the Stuart dynasty. Thomas Cogswell's dramatic new biography brings James to life as a complex, learned, curious man and, above all, a great survivor.