Upon the death of the childless Queen Elizabeth in 1603, the English crown passed to her closest heir, James VI of Scotland. James inherited the English throne as the son of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, Elizabeth's cousin and the favorite of English Catholics, whom Elizabeth had ordered beheaded in 1587. Becoming James I of England, he ruled until his death in 1625. Benjamin Woolley's book, The King's Assassin: The Secret Plot to Murder King James I, trains its focus on the finale of James's 22-year reign, along the way trying to explain how Britain's first Stuart monarch, who combined three crowns (including Ireland's) into “Great Britain,” managed his kingship.
In relating the complex tale, Woolley once again proves himself an adept sleuth among complex sources. He is also a gifted storyteller. His 2001 book The Queen's Conjuror, about a protoscientific adviser to Queen Elizabeth, won deserved praise for its narrative and Sherlock Holmesian qualities.
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