IST 605: The Ruling Class of Britain

A year after the death of James I in 1625, a sensational pamphlet accused the Duke of Buckingham of murdering the king. It was an allegation that would haunt English politics for nearly forty years. In this exhaustively researched new book, two leading scholars of the era, Alastair Bellany and Thomas Cogswell, uncover the untold story of how a secret history of courtly poisoning shaped and reflected the political conflicts that would eventually plunge the British Isles into civil war and revolution. Illuminating many hitherto obscure aspects of early modern political culture, this eagerly anticipated work is both a fascinating story of political intrigue and a major exploration of the forces that destroyed the Stuart monarchy. It's main strength is conveying social life and the expectations surrounding James. It's main failing is that it can try to paint James sympathetically, as the book does regard his murder.

Charles Carlton's biography of the `monarch of the Civil Wars' was praised for its distinctive psychological portrait of Charles I when it was first published in 1983. Challenging conventional interpretations of the king, as well as questioning orthodox historical assumptions concerning the origins and development of the Civil Wars, the book quickly established itself as the definitive biography. Addressing and analysing the furious historiographical debates which have surrounded the period, Carlton offers a fresh and lucid perspective. It's main limitation is that there can be much psychoanalyzing of the king that can read as speculation, not fact.

King Charles was known famously for his love of finery and food, being described as a Merry Monarch. However, he preached religious tolerance, and ruled during the Great Plague. This book's main strength is that it looks outside of the view of the Merry Monarch, focusing on the interests and accomplishments of Charles. It's main failings is at ties it can paint him as a foolish king, due to his rocky relations with Parliment.

This revisionist account of a controversial figure provides a reappraisal of James' career prior to 1685, examining his roles as soldier, administrator, imperialist and entrepreneur. It shows how he held many of the most important positions in the kingdom, including Governor and Proprietor of New York, Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, and Viceroy of Scotland, and exercised a degree of power and patronage second only to that of the King. Its strength is that it clearly shows the relations between political and religious powers during this period.

This book goes over Queen Mary II, who was the wife of William III. This book describes her life as queen and how she lived through the Glorious Revolution. Its strength is that it neatly separates her from her husband, giving her time to shine by describing her personal life and how she differed from her husband. However, its main fault is that the author had a habit of viewing the couple through modern lenses.

This is a full-scale narrative of the political history of William III's reign, with fundamental emphasis on the interaction between crown and Parliament. Professor Horwitz takes into account local and popular inputs into this process but keeps in focus the decision-making at the national level. It describes the political choices and decisions of the king and parliament. It's main weakness is that it makes the crowns power rather limited during this reigning period.

This book describes the overlooked queen, Queen Anne Stuart. It describes her as a misfortune queen who rose above tragedy to bring light to Britain. It’s main strength is how much detail is put into describing her role as queen, and her military strengths, and social gossip surrounding her. It’s weakness is that it somewhat overlooks her lawmaking contributions, ignoring it in favor of other options.