Steven Veerapen:
The Wisest Fool

Steven Veerapen relates the lavish life of James VI and I, the first monarch to rule over the United Kingdom. He has long endured a mixed reputation. To many he is the gay king, the witch-burner, the smelly sovereign who never washed, the colourless man behind the authorised version of the Bible bearing his name, and the drooling fool with a thick Scottish accent. Steven’s new biography offers fresh insights, laying to rest a welter of scurrilous rumour-mongering. What emerges is a portrait of James VI and I as his contemporaries knew him: a gregarious, idealistic man obsessed with the idea of family, whose personal and political goals would never match up to reality. This beautifully written account of a pivotal historical figure casts a fresh light on Jamie the Saxt.