During the reign of Elizabeth, England had become more insular. Elizabeth was more concerned with protecting her realm than with dealing with world powers. However on the accession of James, the situation changed. Here Whitelock looks at the reign of James from the perspective of how England's relationships with its neighbours developed and how the new nation of Britain became more of a global player.
I really enjoyed this book as, although it does describe all the pomp and ceremony, it doesn't focus on King and Court to the extent that other accounts of this time do. In fact it portrays James as a more forward-thinking monarch than many have assumed him to be.

This very long but extremely good book tells us in detail of the reign of the first Stuart king James I, the first king of Great Britain. It explains how he sowed the seeds of wealth, nationality, identity, diplomacy and Christianity and how he could be considered a peacemaker but was also termed the 'warrior king'. A deeply and thoroughly researched book to be highly recommended for those with any interest in this period of history.
My thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for this arc in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.