The King's Assassin
The Secret Plot to Murder King James I
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4.4 • 8 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE STARZ MINISERIES MARY & GEORGE, STARRING JULIANNE MOORE AND NICHOLAS GALITZINE!
An absorbing account of the conspiracy to kill King James I by his handsome lover, the Duke of Buckingham, an historical crime that has remained hidden for 400 years.
The rise of George Villiers from minor gentry to royal power seemed to defy gravity. Becoming gentleman of the royal bedchamber in 1615, the young gallant enraptured James, Britain’s first Stuart king, royal adoration reaching such an intensity that the king declared he wanted the courtier to become his ‘wife’. For a decade, Villiers was at the king’s side – at court, on state occasions, and in bed, right up to James’s death in March 1625.
Almost immediately, Villiers’ many enemies accused him of poisoning the king. A parliamentary investigation was launched, and scurrilous pamphlets and ballads circulated London’s streets. But the charges came to nothing, and were relegated to a historical footnote.
Now, new research suggests that a deadly combination of hubris and vulnerability did indeed drive Villiers to kill the man who made him. It may have been by accident – the application of a quack remedy while the king was weakened by a malarial attack. But there is compelling evidence that Villiers, overcome by ambition and frustrated by James’s passive approach to government, poisoned him.
In The King’s Assassin, acclaimed author Benjamin Woolley examines this remarkable, even tragic story. Combining vivid characterization and a strong narrative with historical scholarship and forensic investigation, Woolley tells the story of King James’s death, and of the captivating figure at its center.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Woolley (The Herbalist) delves into the colorful life of the seductive 17th-century English duke George Villiers, favorite of King James I. Elegant and smooth talking, George Villiers rose above his impoverished family to become James's confidante and lover, establishing a fortune and a litany of titles in a remarkably short time. Despite early missteps including a breach in protocol that ordinarily resulted in the removal of a hand Villiers earned the trust of both James and his more introverted heir, Charles. In fact, George and the prince managed a misguided undercover excursion into Catholic Spain in a failed attempt to clinch a betrothal between Charles and the Spanish infanta, which Woolley recounts humorously. He provides an evenhanded portrayal of the dramatic Villiers, balancing his tenderness toward the king with the haughty ambition that inspired him to kidnap marital prospects for his family members on at least two occasions. As for the discussion of why Villiers may have been the first of many Stuart regicides, Woolley draws on new evidence from noted toxicologist John Henry, who believes that someone probably murdered the king, which is interesting but not definitive. Woolley presents an engrossing portrait of an ambitious man trusted by two kings that both casual readers and Stuart history fans can enjoy.
