Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

After Elizabeth: The Rise of James of Scotland and the Struggle for the Throne of England

After Elizabeth: The Rise of James of Scotland and the Struggle for the Throne of England

by Leanda De Lisle

Many volumes have been written about the long reign of Elizabeth I. Now, for the first time, comes a brilliant new work that focuses on the critical year her reign ended, a time in which England lost its childless queen and a Machiavellian struggle ensued to find her successor. December 1602. After forty-four years on the throne, Queen Elizabeth is in decline. The formidable ruler whose motto is Semper eadem (I... (more)

The Emergence of a Nation State 1529-1660: The Commonwealth of England 1529-1660 (2nd Edition)

The Emergence of a Nation State 1529-1660: The Commonwealth of England 1529-1660 (2nd Edition)

by Alan Gordon Rae Smith

This famous survey has been updated to incorporate the new perspectives of the last twelve years. The study opens with one Revolution, the Reformation, and closes with another - the Civil War of the mid-17th century and the abolition of the monarchy. Alan Smith explores the dramatic changes during this period when the country was forged into a "nation state." Its centrepiece however, remains the extraordinary... (more)

Shakespeare Of London : A Unique Account of Shakespeare's Life and TimesMarchette Chute

Shakespeare Of London : A Unique Account of Shakespeare's Life and Times

by Marchette Chute

Court Lady and Country Wife: Two Noble Sisters in Seventeenth-Century England

Court Lady and Country Wife: Two Noble Sisters in Seventeenth-Century England

by Lita-Rose Betcherman

Born during the reign of Elizabeth I, Lucy and Dorothy Percy came to prominence at the court of Charles I. Lucy, the Countess of Carlisle, dominated the royal scene. Her beauty was immortalized in magnificent Van Dyck portraits, her political skills attracted many famous lovers, and her talent as a gossip ensured her inclusion in the queen's inner circle—until civil war and its machinations led to her imprisonment... (more)

Will in the World

How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare

by Stephen Greenblatt

A brilliant reading of Shakespeare's world yields a new understanding of the man and his genius. A young man from the provinces—a man without wealth, connections, or university education—moves to London. In a remarkably short time he becomes the greatest playwright not just of his age but of all time. His works appeal to urban sophisticates and first-time theatergoers; he turns politics into poetry; he... (more)

Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles

by Margaret George

She was a child crowned a queen.... A sinner hailed as a saint.... A lover denounced as a whore... A woman murdered for her dreams...

Earthly Joys: Book 1

Earthly Joys

by Philippa Gregory

Whether he is nurturing a single rare seedling into a blossoming tree or planning acres of exquisitely conceived royal gardens, John Tradescant's fame and skill as a gardener are unsurpassed in seventeenth-century England. But it is Tradescant's clear-sighted honesty and loyalty that make him an invaluable servant, and in his role as informal confidant during garden strolls with Sir Robert Cecil, adviser to King... (more)

Mary Queen of Scots

by Antonia Fraser

Author of Marie Antoinette She was the quintessential queen: statuesque, regal, dazzlingly beautiful. Her royal birth gave her claim to the thrones of two nations; her marriage to the young French dauphin promised to place a third glorious crown on her noble head. Instead, Mary Stuart became the victim of her own impulsive heart, scandalizing her world with a foolish passion that would lead to abduction, rape... (more)

The Cradle King: The Life of James VI and I, the First Monarch of a United Great Britain

The Cradle King: The Life of James VI and I, the First Monarch of a United Great Britain

by Alan Stewart

As the son of Mary Queen of Scots, born into her 'bloody nest,' James had the most precarious of childhoods. Even before his birth, his life was threatened: it was rumored that his father, Henry, had tried to make the pregnant Mary miscarraige by forcing her to witness the assasination of her supposed lover, David Riccio. By the time James was a one-year-old, Henry was murdered, possibly with the connivance of... (more)

Shelfari Book Activity

Tags: james i