It is March 1603, and the Virgin Queen is dying. She has no children to inherit her throne directly, so she must choose a successor. She chooses the son of Mary Queen of Scots, the queen who had been executed a few years before. James VI of Scotland will become James I of England, but was it as easy as William Camden makes it in his account? What does a recent discovery about Camden’s original manuscript of Annales tell us about James’ succession to the throne of England? Tracy explores the messy conflict to find an heir to the English throne in her latest book, “The Stolen Crown: Treachery, Deceit and the Death of the Tudor Dynasty.”
I would like to thank Grove Atlantic and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this book. I have been a fan of Tracy Borman’s books for a few years now because of how she is able to present new information about stories from the past that I already know and give them a fresh look. When I heard that James might have stolen the crown from Elizabeth I, that thought intrigued me so much that I knew I wanted to read this book.
So how did the Stuarts come into power, and why did Elizabeth have James as her successor? To understand that question, we have to explore briefly the origins of the Tudor dynasty and how Elizabeth I came to the throne. After we are firmly established in the reign of Elizabeth I, Borman goes through why Elizabeth needed to elect a successor and the nominees. Those up for Elizabeth’s throne were: James VI, Arbella Stuart, Lady Katherine Grey, Mary Grey, and Henry Hastings, Earl of Huntingdon. We get to see how Elizabeth handled each of her potential choices as the next ruler of England, but the two that are highlighted significantly in this book are Arbella Stuart, the daughter of Charles Stuart, 5th Earl of Lennox, and Elizabeth Cavendish, and the man who would become King James VI of Scotland.
Borman shows her readers the complex relationship between Elizabeth and James, a tumultuous relationship, especially after the death of James’ mother, Mary Queen of Scots. It was not the most cordial relationship that has been shown in history, including the Annales written by William Camden. However, due to extraordinary research that was revealed in 2023, it was shown that Camden’s writing had serious revisions to paint James in a better light during the fight for succession. In fact, there were attempts on Elizabeth’s life that James knew about, including one incident where he might have been directly involved. Just because James became King of England after Elizabeth’s death does not mean that he had an easier time in England. In fact, the Stuarts lasted less than a hundred years before the monarchy was dissolved with the execution of James’s son Charles I in 1649.
This is another spectacular book by Borman, one that changed how I viewed the relationship between Elizabeth and James in the final years. It reads like a political thriller and offers a deeper appreciation for Elizabeth’s fight for the English throne, while also highlighting how the Stuarts employed similar tactics to the Tudors in securing their right to rule England. Suppose you want an extremely well-researched book that provides great insight into the end of Elizabeth’s reign and provides new information about this period. In that case, I highly recommend you read “The Stolen Crown: Treachery, Deceit and the Death of the Tudor Dynasty” by Tracy Borman.
When we think of Elizabethan England, we tend to think of the Golden Age of England. A time of discoveries and for the arts to flourish under the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I. However, there is a darker side. It was also a time of espionage, fears of invasions from other countries, and the hatred between Catholics and Protestants. The dangers of the Elizabethan underworld have reached the queen, as there is an attempt on her life. Can Jack, the son of a crime boss, change his life and find the culprit before they find him, or will he be betrayed by those he calls his friends? Amie McNee explores the seedy underworld of Elizabethan England in her novel, “To Kill a Queen.”
Have you ever wondered what it might be like for a historical fiction writer during their writing process? How do they balance both their own lives and the lives of their characters? While we can read author interviews to find out what goes on in an author’s mind, why not take a fun twist of a historical fiction author writing about a historical fiction writer writing her first historical fiction novel? Meet Lucy Ellis, a new writer who is writing her first novel about the death of Amy Robsart while recovering from cancer and going through a divorce. Can Lucy finish her novel about Amy Robsart before her life and her health come crashing down? Wendy J. Dunn tells the tale of two women betrayed in her latest novel, “Shades of Yellow.”
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Holbein portrait, public domain image: 
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One would assume that, since England is an island nation, its navy has been its strength since its foundation. That, however, was not always the case. While there were naval battles during the Middle Ages, it was not a navy like we know today. The concept of the Royal Navy was founded during the time of the Tudors, especially under the reign of Henry VIII. So, how did Henry VIII turn a navy from 7 ships to over fifty ships that could stand with other European navies? Geoffrey Moorhouse examines the creation of the English navy in his book, “Great Harry’s Navy: How Henry VIII Gave England Sea Power.”
Sixteenth-century England was a time of great change. There were religious changes as the crown passed from one member of the Tudor family to another. Wars and illnesses like the plague and the sweating sickness were rampant. However, this was also a time of an explosion of the arts, particularly of the theatre. We see men like William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson rise from obscurity to write plays that would propel them to become phenomena. There was a third playwright who should be included in this list. He was the son of a cobbler who was educated at Cambridge University. A brilliant man who wrote groundbreaking plays while he was a spy for her majesty Queen Elizabeth I, his cause of death when he was only in his twenties would remain a mystery for centuries. Christopher (Kit) Marlowe’s story is told in Stephen Greenblatt’s latest book, “Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare’s Greatest Rival.”
One of the greatest threats to England during the reign of Elizabeth I was the Spanish Armada, under the orders of King Philip II of Spain. In the year 1587, the Spanish ships were spotted off the coast of Devon. Fear grips the country, but one woman is up to the task of keeping her beloved Dartington Hall and its inhabitants from harm. Roberda Chapernowne knows what it means to fight for those she loves and is willing to do it again while her husband, Gawen, is away in Ireland fighting for the Queen after he almost divorced Roberda. Roberda’s life turns upside down when Gawen returns home. Can they rekindle their relationship, or will they fall into despair and ruin? Rosemary Griggs concludes Roberda and Gawen Chapernowne’s stories in her latest novel, “Mistress of Dartington Hall.”
We all know the story of the last Tudor monarch, Queen Elizabeth I, who often viewed herself as a female king and who remained a virgin for her entire life. With her death, the Tudor dynasty ended, and a brand new dynasty made its mark on English history. It was a dynasty in England that the son of Elizabeth started I’s rival, Mary Queen of Scots, King James VI of Scotland. King James was not just a king, but a man in love with numerous lovers, and when he fell in love, he fell hard. Gareth Russell explores the life of King James VI/I, who ruled two nations while searching for true love in his latest book, “Queen James: A New History About the Life and Loves of Britain’s First King, James Stuart.”
A princess born to a king and his second wife lost her title and legitimacy when her father decided that her mother, Anne Boleyn, needed to die. Elizabeth Tudor knows the meaning of resilience as she survived her childhood during her father King Henry VIII’s reign. Now that her father is dead Elizabeth is at the mercy of her half-siblings Edward and Mary, plus any scheming man who wants to marry her and get closer to the crown. Can Elizabeth survive her siblings’ reigns or is she destined to be locked in the Tower to await her ultimate fate like her mother? Janet Wertman explores the life of Elizabeth Tudor in her latest series 
Adventures of a Tudor Nerd 
