Stuarts Archives - Aspects of History

AoH Book Club: Steven Veerapen on The Wisest Fool: The Lavish Life of James VI and I

In conversation with the Editor, the historian reflects on his mission to rescue England’s first Stuart king from centuries of caricature and revealing a politically astute monarch whose skills lay in image-making and peaceful governance.

Steven Veerapen

Hello Steven – thanks for talking to us a few years on from the publication of The Wisest Fool: The Lavish Life of James VI and I, our Book Club pick for June. In the book, you set out to strip away the myths around the first Stuart King of England – what was the...

Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee, by Charlie Higson

A lively survey of English and British monarchs that combines humour with a broadly informative narrative of the nation’s past.

Richard Foreman

Whether you are interested in being introduced to British history, or you are familiar with it, Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee, will prove to be a find. Borne out of a successful podcast of the same name, Charlie Higson has written a book which entertains and educates in...

‘Monarchs Actually Did Something Back Then!’: Richard Foreman Interviews Charlie Higson

The author and podcaster shares his reflections on a thought-provoking journey through a thousand years of British kings and queens that mixes personal curiosity with expert insight.

Richard Foreman

Can you first tell us about the genesis of the podcast and book – Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee? It all started for me at an old-fashioned, very minor, prep school in the 1960s. I’m probably from the last generation of British children who was taught a straightforward,...

After Elizabeth: Fear, Treason and the Dangerous Spring of 1603

The author of After Elizabeth explores the dangerous and uncertain months that followed the death of Elizabeth I.

Leanda de Lisle

When Elizabeth I lay dying in March 1603, England held its breath. Later generations would remember the Tudor succession as smooth, almost serene. But that is hindsight. At the time, many feared – and some expected – civil war. Elizabeth had refused to name her...

AoH Book Club: Leanda de Lisle on After Elizabeth

Exploring the tense months after Elizabeth I’s death and the turbulent accession of James I, as intrigue rippled through court and kingdom.

Leanda de Lisle

Your book After Elizabeth opens at Whitehall during the last Christmas of Elizabeth I’s reign. From a political perspective, what sort of environment was Sir John Harington walking into? He walked into a court glittering on the brink of extinction. There were dances,...

Whig vs Tory

A new book examines the influential period between the Glorious Revolution and the Hanoverian accession.

George Owers

Whig vs Tory During the pulsating and action-packed months of 1712, 1713 and 1714 many people, including a hefty chunk of MPs, were convinced that the country teetered on the edge either of the imposition of an absolutist Roman Catholic King and the extirpation of the...

Separating Religion and Politics: A Mayflower Pilgrim Perspective

Independent Protestants landed on Plymouth Rock in November 1620.

Karen Haden

With Americans celebrating Thanksgiving at the end of the month, November seems a good time to consider the Pilgrims who sailed on the Mayflower from Europe in 1620. Whilst researching my Alexander Baxby mystery Paying in Blood, I learnt more about their roots in...

Prince Rupert of the Rhine: King Charles I’s Cavalier Commander, by Mark Turnbull

A new biography uncovers just how much of a mark the 17th-century prince left on Stuart Britain.

Steven Veerapen

Prince Rupert of the Rhine: King Charles I’s Cavalier Commander, by Mark Turnbull Following his extraordinary study of Charles I’s private life, Mark Turnbull now turns his attention to another major player in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, Prince Rupert of the...

The Succession of King James: A Robert Cecil Masterclass

The transition from Elizabeth I to James I is examined by the historical novelist.

Karen Haden

The Succession of King James Recently, some have suggested that Scottish King James stole the English throne after Queen Elizabeth's death in 1603. Although it is impossible to prove Elizabeth really named him as her successor on her death bed, as is usually claimed,...

Historical Heroes: Prince Rupert of the Rhine

A dashing cavalier or a Prince Robber - a new biography re-examines the life of a key figure in the tumult of the 17th century

Mark Turnbull

Historical Heroes: Prince Rupert of the Rhine Though this is an article about Rupert as a historical hero, I should, ironically, start by pointing out that he is also considered to be a historical villain! In his heyday enemy propaganda named him ‘Prince Robber’ or...