The Mirror of Great Britain: A Life of James VI & I

A major reassessment of one of Britain’s most important monarchs

'Clare Jackson's dazzling portrait of James plunges us not only into his extraordinary political career but into his mental universe... Splendidly erudite and wonderfully vivid in its detail and insights, The Mirror of Great Britain enriches our understanding both of James's times and of our own' – Fintan O'Toole, New York Times best-selling author of We Don’t Know Ourselves

'Beautifully written and supported by a treasure trove of new material, The Mirror of Great Britain is a profound meditation on the meaning of identity and the fragility of kingship' –Amanda Foreman, New York Times best-selling author of The Duchess, Georgiana, and A World on Fire

James VI & I, who died 400 years ago, was one of Britain’s most consequential and interesting monarchs, not least in creating the British monarchy itself by joining the English and Scottish thrones. A major intellectual, James's preoccupations ranged from witchcraft and theological controversy to hunting, diplomacy, poetry and sartorial fashion. The 'Mirror of Great Britain' was a spectacular jewel that gave symbolic endorsement to James's vision of British union, but mirrors themselves — with their limitless capacity to magnify, illuminate and distort — supplied James with one of his favourite literary metaphors.

Ruler of Scotland for nearly four decades before his accession to the English throne in 1603, James was a ‘cradle king’ whose long reigns encompassed extraordinary dramas, including his abduction in the ‘Ruthven Raid’ in 1582 and his attempted assassination in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. In his lifetime, James often confounded contemporaries’ expectations while his posthumous reputation has been distorted by crude stereotypes.
Closely attentive to James’s own words — in numerous publications, manuscript musings, topical verse and private correspondence — Clare Jackson's wonderful new book tells the story of this highly unusual monarch with great flair and insight.