The Mirror of Great Britain

James VI and I is arguably the most intriguingly complex of British monarchs: an accomplished poet, a passionate Protestant with a profound interest in witches and demons, a lover of young men and the patron of both Shakespeare and the great version of the Bible that still bears his name. He managed to rule Scotland for nearly six decades and England and Ireland for 22 years—which alone would make him a momentous figure. But he also did more than anyone else to forge the idea of Great Britain as a political entity and to give substance to its dreams of empire, not least in America. Clare Jackson's dazzling portrait of James plunges us not only into his extraordinary political career but into his mental universe, a ferment of ambitions, obsessions and desires from which much of the English-speaking world emerged. 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, <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author of <i>We Don’t Know Ourselves</i>

In Clare Jackson’s luminous biography of James VI and I, this much misunderstood king speaks to us as the man he was rather than as the puppet of fortune. 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, <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author of <i>The Duchess, Georgiana, and A World on Fire</i>

A fine, humanizing portrait of Great Britain's most misunderstood and maligned monarch. In this erudite and beautifully written biography, Clare Jackson brings the man who was both James VI of Scotland and James I of England to life for a new generation of readers

Ruth Scurr, author of <i>Napoleon: A Life Told in Gardens and Shadows

A monarch for the ages... Jackson shows her respect and affection for James in this highly readable history. A robust history of the first—and ‘by far, its most interesting’—king of Great Britain

Kirkus Reviews

A wide-ranging and insightful new biography... Jackson is an assured guide, offering both an astute psychological portrait of the king and a shrewd political history of his reigns... This judicious, perceptive and empathetic study lays down a robust challenge to biographers of rival candidates

Peter Marshall, Literary Review

After finishing this beguiling book, there seems no point in reading anything else. It’s the quintessence of James; rather like his big brain, it flows everywhere and is impossible to contain. In research, analysis and imagination, it’s a masterpiece... In [Jackson's] mirror one views a life perfectly rendered — complete, complex and awe-inspiring

Gerard De Groot, The Times

A detailed account of our most multifarious monarch... Clare Jackson’s excellent biography of James VI and I suggests a man who was accomplished at playing a variety of different roles

Stuart Kelly, Scotland on Sunday

It’s 400 years since James’ death. Clare Jackson’s is the third book in six months to mark the anniversary and is undoubtedly the best… She understands the importance of looking at James through his own words

Mark Bostridge, The Oldie

Impressive… a terrific scholarly work

Stephen Bush, The FT Weekend

Jackson gives a vivid sense of how James might have looked into the future and anticipated what did indeed take place in the late 1630s... This is a historiographically convincing version of the court

Michael Questier, The Times Literary Supplement