This book describes the fragile state of affairs at the end of Elizabeth I's life. Unpopular by the end of her reign because of corrupt monopolies and economic downturn, Elizabeth had also refused to name an heir. In an atmosphere of religious intolerance and fears of foreign intervention, a faction of the nobility quickly invited James VI of Scotland south to reign as James I. The author details James' procession through his new kingdom and the strain it put on those who hosted his retinue. The trepidation of the English toward their new monarch foreshadows their eventual disenchantment with the Stuart dynasty. This is an insightful book on an eventful historical period.
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