A review by sophronisba
The Cradle King: The Life of James VI and I, The First Monarch of a United Great Britain by Alan Stewart

informative medium-paced

4.25

 I found this bio pretty fascinating -- by which I mean I could barely put it down even while trying to meet an aggressive work deadline. James VI and I never knew what it was like to not be a king -- he ascended to the throne as an infant. Perhaps not coincidentally, his personal relationships were a mess: he was a terrible husband, an indifferent father, and a fickle, feckless romantic companion to several men (although he did enrich and elevate his favorites). His reign wasn't a disaster, but he wasn't a great king and it's easy to see how it opened cracks that led to the English Revolution only a few years later.