{"product_id":"9780008660895","title":"Queen James : The Life and Loves of Britain’s First King","description":"\u003ch3\u003eAuthor: Gareth Russell\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003eUnited Kingdom, Great Britain\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 12 February 2026 by HarperCollins Publishers (William Collins) in the United Kingdom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePaperback | 496 pages\u003cbr\u003e198 x 129 | 360g\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA BBC History magazine, Esquire, Historia magazine and Waterstones History Book of the Year\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  'James comes alive in full flamboyance … Russell expertly weaves the bedchamber gossip into the tapestry of a tumultuous reign' SUNDAY TIMES\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  'Brings the backbiting and power struggles of the Jacobean court to life with wit and vigour' OBSERVER\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  ‘A warts and all story told with compassion’ PHILIPPA GREGORY\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  ‘Elizabeth was king,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Then James was queen.’ – English author (1603)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  James Stuart, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland did not always love wisely, but he never failed to do so boldly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  He fell in love three times – with a Scottish lord, a knight and George Villiers, ‘the handsomest man in the whole world’. He was infatuated three more times – with a Highland earl, a Welsh lord and an English spy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e We know so much about the six wives of Henry VIII, why not the six loves of James I?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e This groundbreaking new book puts James – genius, liar, spendthrift, idealist, witch-hunter – and the men he loved at the centre of one of the most dramatic stories in British royal history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Beginning with the brutal and mysterious murder of his father in 1567, James’s life encompassed kidnapping, witchcraft trials, torture, his mother’s beheading, poison, political radicalism, religious fundamentalism, a queen’s alleged abortion, passionate sex, strong love, stronger hate, espionage, brothels, and a decade-long love affair that ended in assassination.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e It is unquestionably one of the most gripping stories in British history, retold in Gareth Russell’s Queen James with scholarship, biographical insight and wit.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  'Books like this don't come along very often. Told with Gareth Russell's characteristic verve and exquisite eye for detail, it is a story so compelling and surprising that it feels as if it has been hiding in plain sight for 400 years. A stunning achievement and a must for history fans everywhere' TRACY BORMAN\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Bookhouse Broughty Ferry","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56748407554423,"sku":"9780008660895","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0357\/3199\/6807\/files\/9780008660895.jpg?v=1771327583","url":"https:\/\/thebookhousebroughtyferry.co.uk\/products\/9780008660895","provider":"The Bookhouse Broughty Ferry","version":"1.0","type":"link"}