Book Review

‘The Sun Rising’: Reconsidering Great Britain’s James I

The king who followed Elizabeth I was skilled at diplomacy and at keeping an uneasy peace between religious groups in his kingdom.
‘The Sun Rising’: Reconsidering Great Britain’s James I
Left: Author Anna Whitelock gives a compelling spin on the reign of King James I. Right: “The Sun Rising: King James I and the Dawn of a Global Britain, 1603–1625." Zoë de T/Viking
Phil Hall
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In March 1603, England faced a crisis. The unmarried and childless Queen Elizabeth I lay dying at Richmond Palace. A secret government report determined there were 12 different potential claimants to the throne, not counting potential foreign invaders eager to usurp a leaderless kingdom.

The eventual successor was King James VI of Scotland, Elizabeth’s closest relative; both were direct descendants of King Henry VII. James was welcomed into England as the new king, taking the name James I.

Phil Hall
Phil Hall
Author
Phil Hall is the author of 11 books, the host of the syndicated radio talk show “Nutmeg Chatter,” the editor of Weekly Real Estate News, the co-editor of Cinema Crazed, and a writer whose work has appeared in the New York Times, New York Daily News, Hartford Courant, Wired, The Hill, Jerusalem Post, Cowboys & Indians, Film Threat, and Wrestling Inc.