Professor Susan (Sue) Doran, Senior Research Fellow at Jesus College, has today published a new book that tells the story of the troubled accession of England’s first Scottish king, and the transition from the age of the Tudors to the age of the Stuarts at the dawn of the seventeenth century.

In From Tudor to Stuart: The Regime Change from Elizabeth I to James I, Sue explores the dramatic accession and first decade of the reign of James I, and the transition from the Elizabethan to the Jacobean era, using a huge range of sources, from state papers and letters to drama, masques, poetry, and a host of material objects.

 

Elizabeth I, who founded Jesus College Oxford in 1571, was a hard act to follow for a Scottish newcomer who faced a host of problems in his first years as king: not only the ghost of his predecessor, and her legacy, but also unrest in Ireland, serious questions about his legitimacy on the English throne, and even plots to remove him (most famously the Gunpowder Plot of 1605).

Contrary to traditional assumptions, James’s accession was by no means a smooth one, with significant changes occurring in national political life, and royal policies. Sue examines how the establishment of a new Stuart dynasty resulted in fresh personnel at the centre of power, and the impact of alterations in monarchical institutions, shifts in political culture and governmental policies that took place.

 

As well as providing a fresh interpretation of the characters and qualities of James and his wife Anna, the book also features insights into key historical figures such as Walter Raleigh and Robert Cecil, and the Scots who filled James’s inner court. The inside story of the Jacobean court also brings to life the wider politics and national events of the early seventeenth century, including the Gunpowder Plot, the establishment of Jamestown in Virginia, the Plantations in Ulster, the growing royal struggle with parliament, and the doomed attempt to bring about union with Scotland.

From Tudor to Stuart: The Regime Change from Elizabeth I to James I is published by OUP and available to buy in hardback here.