aBurntShip

                                                              By Tony Morgan  The work of York based author Tony Morgan has already been featured in this blog. Pleased to see that he has now devoted  a whole work to York during the  reign of James VI/ I ( ruling England from 1603-1625) . Certainly this reader learnt a great deal from this quite short book. For example,  Medieval aspects of city life had not completely vanished. Trade guilds were of particular importance. Ecclesiastical courts functioned. The traditional 'Tanton' feast held every three years, where a piglet had been especially reared and fattened  to be slaughtered for a feast organised by the 'Brothers of Saint Anthony', continued until 1625. The Roman Catholic faith had not be completely banished.  York's economic life fluctuated fo...

             King James VI / I and Witchcraft Steven Veerapen is a Scottish academic, historian, and successful historical novel writer, focusing largely on the 16th century and early 17th century. His latest book is 'Witches-A king's Obsession' , published by Birlinn, 2025 in hardback.                                    Steven Veerapen is certainly well qualified to write about the Jacobean era : His previous works include biographies of James VI & I, 'The Wisest Fool   (2023) and his wife Anna of Denmark ' Queen in Two Kingdoms  (2022) .  There is a helpful background in this book showing how witchcraft and magic were viewed in past centuries. A turning point was the publication and circulation of the  Witch hunting manual  Malleus Maleficarum by Heinrich Kramer (1487), aided by the rise of the printing press...

                                        The Lavish Life of James VI and 1                                           Steven Veerapen is an esteemed Scottish academic and fiction writer drawing on the late 16th century. His biography of Anna of Denmark, wife to James VI/1 was published in 2022, and Mr Veerapen has also written a non fiction book on Mary Queen of Scots-'Blood Feud-Mary Queen of Scots and Lord Moray' amongst other works . Over half the book deals with James's upbringing in Scotland and his kingship there. The focus on Scottish history is well done. The author works hard to try and explain the complex rivalries between the factions of Scottish nobility that could easily break out into armed fighting. The author makes an important distinction is made between the English Refo...

            Biography by Scottish academic and historical fiction writer Steven Veerapen                A biography of Anna, princess of Denmark, queen of Scotland, and also queen of England and Ireland from 1603, is most welcome. Published in 2022 by  Peter Lang  .Steven Veerapen is a lecturer at the University of Strathclyde who has written a series of historical novels set during the Tudor period. Amongst Mr Veerapen's  non-fiction work are  'Blood Feud -Mary Queen of Scots and Lord Moray' and 'Elizabeth and Essex, Power, Passion and Politics'. Cultural historians have emphasised Anna's patronage and participation in Court masques, particularly in relation to  the works of Ben Jonson's such Masque of Beauty and Masque of Queens . This is all acknowledged, along with a section on Anna and Ben Jonson's collaboration in organising an 'antimasque'- 'an unnatural and inelegant dance', in ...