Kirjahaku

An engrossing, unadulterated biography of "Bloody Mary"--elder daughter of Henry VIII, Catholic zealot, and England's first reigning Queen Mary Tudor was the first woman to inherit the throne of England. Reigning through one of Britain's stormiest eras, she earned the nickname "Bloody Mary" for her violent religious persecutions. She was born a princess, the daughter of Henry VIII and the Spanish Katherine of Aragon. Yet in the wake of Henry's break with Rome, Mary, a devout Catholic, was declared illegitimate and was disinherited. She refused to accept her new status or to recognize Henry's new wife, Anne Boleyn, as queen. She faced imprisonment and even death. Mary successfully fought to reclaim her rightful place in the Tudor line, but her coronation would not end her struggles. She flouted fierce opposition in marrying Philip of Spain, sought to restore England to the Catholic faith, and burned hundreds of dissenters at the stake. But beneath her hard exterior was a woman whose private traumas of phantom pregnancies, debilitating illnesses, and unrequited love played out in the public glare of the fickle court. Though often overshadowed by her long-reigning sister, Elizabeth I, Mary Tudor was a complex figure of immense courage, determination, and humanity--and a political pioneer who proved that a woman could rule with all the power of her male predecessors.

A gripping and thought-provoking account of the reign of King James I, who united Britain and made England the global power we know today. The British monarchy of today descends directly from one leader: King James I, whose huge--and much overlooked--influence launched England as a major international trade power, established the King James Bible, and united the royal families of Scotland and England under one house and one monarch. Along with his wife, Anna of Denmark, and his children--Henry, Elizabeth, and Charles--James sought to broker agreements between the warring Catholic and Protestant princes in Europe and establish an era of peace. Instead, James set the groundwork for his children to grow up and champion a militant Protestantism that plunged the entire continent into religious war. At his ascension, England was economically behind, but James's global ambitions began to shift the tide: As ships departed London for America, Russia, Persia, India, and Japan, the fledgling East India Company began to intertwine ever closer with the crown. And James himself was dogged by scandal, running a court famously reputed for vice and venality. But his court was also rich in art, drama, and literature. Shakespeare's King Lear and Macbeth--said to have been inspired by James himself--were both first performed at the Jacobean court. Set across England and the Continent, over the course of twenty years--beginning with the death of Elizabeth I in 1603 and the ascension of James I and ending in 1625 with Charles I becoming king--The Sun Rising presents a rich and compelling portrait of the royal family and a story of dynastic power politics, which ultimately and viciously split Europe.

In the summer of 1553, against all odds, Mary Tudor was the first woman to be crowned Queen of England. Anna Whitelock's absorbing debut tells the remarkable story of a woman who was a princess one moment, and a disinherited bastard the next. It tells of her Spanish heritage and the unbreakable bond between Mary and her mother, Katherine of Aragon; of her childhood, adolescence, rivalry with her sister Elizabeth and finally her womanhood. Throughout her life Mary was a fighter, battling to preserve her integrity and her right to hear the Catholic mass. Finally, she fought for the throne. The Mary that emerges from this groundbreaking biography is not the weak-willed failure of traditional narratives, but a complex figure of immense courage, determination and humanity.

Elizabeth I acceded to the throne in 1558, restoring the Protestant faith to England. At the heart of the new queen’s court lay Elizabeth’s bedchamber, closely guarded by the favoured women who helped her dress, looked after her jewels and shared her bed. Elizabeth’s private life was of public, political concern. Her bedfellows were witnesses to the face and body beneath the make-up and elaborate clothes, as well as to rumoured illicit dalliances with such figures as Robert Dudley. Their presence was for security as well as propriety, as the kingdom was haunted by fears of assassination plots and other Catholic subterfuge. For such was the significance of the queen’s body: it represented the very state itself. This riveting, revealing history of the politics of intimacy uncovers the feminized world of the Elizabethan court. Between the scandal and intrigue the women who attended the queen were the guardians of the truth about her health, chastity and fertility. Their stories offer extraordinary insight into the daily life of the Elizabethans, the fragility of royal favour and the price of disloyalty.

A panoramic history of the arrival of the Stuarts, and how the reign of King James I saw England reach new corners of the globe'A majestic, brilliant account of the birth of an empire. Spectacularly good' PETER FRANKOPAN'With its gripping storytelling combined with historical rigour, The Sun Rising is just the right kind of zesty treatment a neglected period needs. Fresh and fabulous' LUCY WORSLEYIn 1603 England was on the edge of crisis. Queen Elizabeth I had died, bringing the Tudor line to an end.Enter King James, who reached London after an unprecedented procession from Scotland. James established a new dynasty on the English throne and the first ‘united’ kingdom of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales was born. The Stuarts had arrived.But first, this new ‘Great Britain’ had to play catch up. England was behind, but James’s global ambitions began to shift the tide. As ships departed London for America, Russia, Persia, India and Japan, as the fledgling East India Company began to intertwine ever closer with the crown and as the English began to travel beyond the bounds of their island in greater numbers than ever before, the seeds of the future British Empire were sown.Long overshadowed by the glory of Elizabeth I and the fatal nadir of Charles I, the reign of the first King of Great Britain is at last told in a new light. Taking in everything from the historic voyage of the Mayflower to the alliance between James and the Persian shah over a joint love of silk, The Sun Rising revolutionises our understanding of the early seventeenth century and the figures that forged a global Britain.

A panoramic history of the arrival of the Stuarts, and how the reign of James I saw England reach new corners of the globe.

Intimt porträtt av en mytomspunnen drottning!Elisabet I, enda överlevande barnet till Henrik VIII och Anne Boleyn, tillträdde den engelska tronen 1558. Få personer i världshistorien är lika mytomspunna som hon. Hennes regentperiod anses som en politisk och kulturell guldålder och hon själv anses vara en av Englands mest betydelsefulla regenter.Genom att berätta Elisabets levnadshistoria utifrån vad som skedde i hennes privata gemak ger Anna Whitelock en mycket initierad bild av drottningens liv och leverne. Bland skandaler och intriger träder de kvinnor fram som var satta att vakta hennes kyskhet, hälsa och fruktsamhet men också de män med maktpolitiska ambitioner som uppträdde som hennes friare, däribland den svenske regenten Erik XIV.»Ett synnerligen närgånget porträtt … Det är en nästan osannolik värld vi får ta del av och grym. Men en politisk och kulturell guldålder var det. Man lär sig mycket.« Tidskriften Socialpolitik»Det fina och originella med den här boken om Elisabet är att vi får lära oss om både hennes och landets politiska utveckling genom att ta del av de närståendes liv så långt dokumentationen tillåter.« Bibliotekstjänst»Att komma så här nära en historisk person hör inte till vanligheterna. Whitelock har gjort det på ett utmärkt och trovärdigt sätt samtidigt som det aldrig blir långtråkigt. Hennes insikt är avundsvärd och intresset är äkta och djupgående … jag rekommenderar den varmt till alla som är intresserade av engelsk historia.« Bloggen Holavedsbrudar»En intressant bok och den ger en inblick i ett hovliv som för oss nutidsmänniskor verkar helt främmande … jag kan verkligen rekommendera den.« Bloggen Bokparet»Superintressant … väldigt lärorikt .. intrigfull.« Bloggen Lenas Godsaker

***A HISTORY TODAY BOOK OF THE YEAR*** A panoramic history of the arrival of the Stuarts, and how the reign of King James I saw England reach new corners of the globe 'A majestic, brilliant account of the birth of an empire. Spectacularly good' PETER FRANKOPAN 'Gripping storytelling combined with historical rigour . . . Just the right kind of zesty treatment a neglected period needs. Fresh and fabulous' LUCY WORSLEY Four centuries ago James Stuart came to the throne with the dream of a united and global Great Britain. His reign saw expeditions reach Russia, India, Persia, China, Japan and the shores of the New World, and the East India Company grow ever-closer to the crown. In this epic and panoramic history, Anna Whitelock casts the long-overlooked monarch in a new light – and tells how it was under his reign that the seeds of the future British Empire were sown. 'Stereotypes are out; new ways of defining James and his world are in . . . Game-changing’ LITERARY REVIEW