‘Elizabeth was king,
Then James was queen.’
– Unknown English author (1623)
A Times Summer 2025 Must-Read
A Daily Mail Summer 2025 Must-Read
An Audible Best of 2025
“A stellar example of how to write historical biography.” - Helen Carr
“Books like this don’t come along very often. Told with Gareth Russell's characteristic verve and exquisite eye for detail, it is a story so compelling and surprising that it feels as if it has been hiding in plain sight for 400 years. A stunning achievement and a must for history fans everywhere” - Tracy Borman
James Stuart, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland did not always love wisely, but he never failed to do so boldly.
He fell in love three times – with a Scottish lord, a knight and George Villiers, ‘the handsomest man in the whole world’. He was infatuated three more times – with a Highland earl, a Welsh lord and an English spy.
We know so much about the six wives of Henry VIII, why not the six loves of James I?
This groundbreaking new book puts James – genius, liar, spendthrift, idealist, witch-hunter – and the men he loved at the centre of one of the most dramatic stories in British royal history.
Beginning with the brutal and mysterious murder of his father in 1567, James’s life encompassed kidnapping, witchcraft trials, torture, his mother’s beheading, poison, political radicalism, religious fundamentalism, a queen’s alleged abortion, passionate sex, strong love, stronger hate, espionage, brothels, and a decade-long love affair that ended in assassination.
It is unquestionably one of the most gripping stories in British history, retold in Gareth Russell’s Queen James with scholarship, biographical insight and wit.
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Praise for Queen James
“A stunning achievement and a must for history fans everywhere.” - Tracy Borman
“Move aside Henry VIII and his six wives.”
- The Belfast Telegraph
“Russell is a serious historian, not given to cheap sensation … James comes alive … Academic historians are often reluctant to discuss emotions and rather limp when it comes to sex. Russell, in contrast, immerses himself in James’s complex personality, producing a portrait that is robust and exquisitely detailed. … The book is serious when it needs to be and fun when appropriate. … Superbly nuanced biography.” - The Sunday Times
“Gareth Russell cannot write an uninteresting book.”
- Philippa Gregory
“Russell’s superb biography of James I stands apart in its mixture of acute psychological insight and intricate research, as he brings the backbiting and power struggles of the Jacobean court to life with wit and vigour.”
- The Observer
“This is Russell at his absolute best.” - Nicola Tallis
“A pacy, accessible book, it celebrates a force of nature who lived life on his own terms, despite the strife it caused him.” - The Herald (Edinburgh)
“A stellar example of how to write historical biography.”
- Helen Carr
“Gareth Russell’s confident, compelling new biography of James I …The most striking lesson of this propulsive biography is how brutal life was 450 years ago.”
- The Guardian
“Written with enviable clarity and full of fascinating asides.” - The Scotsman
“Triumphant.” - The Critic
“Not just as a thorough account of the king’s life and loves but a thumping good read in its own right: a highly-readable, highly-relevant tale of passion, politics and, above all, people.” - Steven Veerapen
“More than just a biography, it is a reclamation … This book is a vital contribution to our understanding of James, his kingship, and the complex tapestry of love and power.” - History Today
“A superb mixture of scholarship and storytelling.”
- Owen Emmerson
“Russell’s book is a real page turner. His style is rumbustious and highly readable, but it is based on impeccable scholarship. He is very good on character, scene and detail. He relishes an interesting anecdote and a telling statistic. The book shows all the potential of a TV mini-series.” - Book Ireland
“A compelling read, making me ultimately see James in a whole new light, and is a substantial and remarkable contribution to the study of the history of Stuart Britain. If he hadn’t already proved this in his previous works, I would argue that Russell is one of the great living historians and is setting the (very high) standard for the rest of us, and we are very lucky to have him and his work.”
- Andrea Zuvich, author of Ravenous
“Russell reveals James as a fully-rounded human, in scholarly and engaging prose, full of interpretation and detail, but never forcing the reader's hand.”
- Amy Licence, author of Catherine of Aragon