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James VI and I (1566-1625)
www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/james/
Biography of the king and reprints of his written works, plus lots of links to contemporary literature and other relevant sites.
Charles I (r. 1625-49)
www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page76.asp
Good biography of the monarch, on the 'official website of the British monarchy'.
Cromwell 1599-1658
www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/biog/
oliver-cromwell.htm
Comprehensive biography of the Protector, plus information on the fates of his children and a link to the article 'Oliver Cromwell's Head and its curious history'.
Charles II, king of England, Scotland and Ireland
www.bartleby.com/65/ch/
Charles2Eng.html
Biography of the king from the Columbia Encyclopedia.
James II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland (1633-1701)
www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/
james_ii_king.shtml
Concise biography of the unfortunate monarch, from BBC History.
William III and Mary II (1689-1702)
www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/
mon51.html
Joint biography of the dual monarchs.
Queen Anne
http://departments.kings.edu
/womens_history/anne.html
Basic history of Queen Anne plus an excellent annotated bibliography.
Books
The Sickly Stuarts: The medical downfall of a dynasty by Frederick Holmes (Sutton, 2003)
Holmes, a distinguished professor of medicine, concludes that the aggregate medical problems and medical misadventures of the Stuarts brought the family down, so that Parliament rose to fill the vacuum created.
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James I by S J Houston (Longman, 2nd ed. 1995)
A university-level introduction to James I that is stimulating and concise.
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James VI and I by Roger Lockyer (Longman, 1998)
This study takes a thematic approach and provides a thorough assessment of a much-maligned figure.
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King Charles I by Pauline Gregg (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2000)
A university-level biography which contains many insights into Charles I as a person and as a king.
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Buckingham: The life and political career of George Villiers, first Duke of Buckingham 1592-1628 by Roger Lockyer (Longman, 1981) Out of print; may be available through libraries and specialist bookshops.
A well-researched and very detailed biography of the favourite of James I and Charles I.
Thomas Wentworth, first Earl of Strafford 1593-1641: A revaluation by C V Wedgwood (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2000)
A readable, clear and revealing assessment of Charles I's key minister.
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Archbishop Laud by Hugh Trevor-Roper (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2000)
A brilliant biography, first published in 1962, of a key figure in the reign of Charles I.
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Cromwell: Our chief of men by Antonia Fraser (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2001)
A readable and detailed biography of one of England's most celebrated and controversial figures, often demonised as a puritanical zealot.
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God's Englishman: Oliver Cromwell and the English revolution by Christopher Hill (Penguin, 2000)
Written in the 1960s, this is not just a biography but a survey of 17th-century English history through Cromwell's eyes, with emphasis on the role of religion.
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Freeborn John: A biography of John Lilburne by Pauline Gregg (1961). Out of print; may be available through libraries and specialist bookshops.
This sound biography of the Leveller leader offers a good insight into protest and revolution in 17th-century England.
Clarendon and His Friends by Richard Ollard (Atheneum, 1998). Out of print; may be available through libraries and specialist bookshops.
An excellent introduction to Charles II's key minister, with vivid details of his domestic life.
Charles II: King of England, Scotland and Ireland by Ronald Hutton (Clarendon, 1989)
A comprehensive and definitive work that not only covers Charles II's life but also offers insights into society in 17th-century Britain.
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James II by John Miller (Yale University Press, 2000)
A comprehensive and definitive work that covers James II's life, politics and the crisis of late 17th-century Britain.
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William and Mary by John van der Kiste (Sutton, 2003)
A dual biography that deals with the life and times of the monarchs, and with England's place in Europe. Interests of the subjects, outside the constitutional, are dealt with: William's rumoured homosexuality and Mary's hinted-at lesbianism; Mary's troubled personal relations with her father, James II; and the relationship between Mary and her sister Anne.
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Ungrateful Daughters: The Stuart princesses who stole their father's crown by Maureen Waller (Sceptre, 2003)
Waller recreates the late Stuart era, highlighting the influence of three women in one of the most momentous events in British history: a palace coup that changed the face of the monarchy and signalled the end of a dynasty. In the same year as the birth of the young prince, seven prominent men invited William of Orange – James II's nephew and son-in-law – to intervene in English affairs. But it was the women, Queen Mary Beatrice and her stepdaughters Mary and Anne, who played a key role in this drama.
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The Marlboroughs: John and Sarah Churchill 1650-1744 by Christopher Hibbert (Penguin, 2002)
Perhaps the greatest British general, John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough, was also a successful if devious politician. He was a commanding figure from the time of James II – whose mistress was Churchill's sister – until that of Queen Anne, whose intimate friend, the beautiful, gifted, quarrelsome Sarah, was his wife. The book concentrates on the Churchills' personal lives, telling the story of one of the 18th century's most powerful couples.
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