The Sun Rising

Well-informed, fluid and fascinating -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times * A refreshing break with the Anglo-centricity of so much recent writing on James VI and I -- Michael Questier * TLS * Anna Whitelock proves a sure-footed and eloquent guide to James’s reign . . . What is striking when one reads this primer is that, exactly four centuries after James’s death, Britain finds itself once again playing catch-up, uncertain of its place in the world, and lacking the kind of identity that was forged in the seventeenth century -- Paul Lay * Oldie * A majestic, brilliant account of the birth of an empire. Spectacularly good -- PETER FRANKOPAN, author of The Silk Roads With its gripping storytelling combined with historical rigour, The Sun Rising is just the right kind of zesty treatment a neglected period needs. Fresh and fabulous -- LUCY WORSLEY Richly evocative and brilliantly provocative, The Sun Rising transports its readers far from Whitehall in pursuit of James I’s vision for a united, global Britain. From the plantations of Ireland and trading posts in Indonesia to the courts of Russia and Japan, Anna Whitelock’s compelling narrative looks afresh at James I, and at the idea of Britain that emerged during his reign – and which still resonates today -- ALICE HUNT, author of Republic: Britain's Revolutionary Decade, 1649-1660 Stereotypes are out; new ways of defining James and his world are in . . . Whitelock’s exploration of how political, cultural and commercial interests interlocked in James’s policymaking, so expanding conceptions of state power, is game-changing -- JOHN GUY * Literary Review * Does a terrific job of communicating the ways in which James and his time wereboth incredibly like and unlike our own -- Stephen Bush * Financial Times * Covers what was a “golden age” of exploration, navigation, trade and propaganda, beginning with James’ accession to the English throne in 1603 … What emerges is a much-needed panoramic view of Jacobean Britain as it was projected across the globe . . . Whitelock provides a restorative to tiresome preconceptions about an often-maligned monarch . . . A variety of Stuart personalities appear in Whitelock’s account, including the outward-looking merchant Thomas Smythe, the American princess Matoaka (Pocahontas), the inventor John Harington, and the adventurer John Saris . . . They deserve, as Whitelock makes clear, to be as well-known as the courtiers, artists and adventurers of the Elizabethan and Henrician eras . . . Whitelock’s James is the king as he was in his day: confident, canny and colourful -- Steven Veerapen * History Today * A picturesque portrait of the nascent Great Britain in an extraordinary age of unification, expansion and commercial experimentation. With sympathy and vigour, Anna Whitelock showcases many facets of this emerging world at home and overseas, ruled over by a fascinating monarch too often neglected and misunderstood by posterity -- MALCOLM GASKILL, author of The Ruin of All Witches A very lucid, exciting and well-researched narrative of a part of British history which has been relatively neglected and yet is of vital and enduring importance for the development of Britain -- RONALD HUTTON, author of The Witch With shrewd reasoning and in lucid prose, Professor Anna Whitelock refuses the vision of James VI and I as an insular caretaker king, uncomfortably sandwiched between the glittering Elizabeth and the ill-fated Charles. Here, instead, is a focal reign in which the British reached tendrils out into the corners of the globe and entwined themselves with the history of the world. A scintillating and vital read -- SUZANNAH LIPSCOMB, author of Six Queens: The Wives of Henry VIII Fascinating, razor-sharp and shot through with uncanny resonances for the interesting times in which we live, The Sun Rising is the brilliantly realised story of James I and the men who, under his rule, sailed the world in search of power and profit. With wit and acute insight, in a page-turning read, Anna Whitelock shows us the seventeenth-century making of ‘Global Britain’ -- HELEN CASTOR, author of She-Wolves Big, bold, bracing history that expertly captures the energy, ambition and ruthlessness by which a fledgling Britain took wing and then proceeded to feather its nest. Anna Whitelock gives us wide vistas, sharp insights and immersive prose; I can almost taste the salt and smell the sulphur -- JESSIE CHILDS, author of The Siege of Loyalty House Intended as a 'provocation' to rethink established narratives, The Sun Rising takes readers from Jamestown to Archangel and from Mughal India to Pulo Run in modern-day Indonesia. Assembling a large cast of explorers, envoys and entrepreneurs, Whitelock's new book vividly underscores the vitality and global ambitions of early seventeenth-century Englishmen and their first Stuart king -- CLARE JACKSON, author of Devil-Land