JAMES, BY THE GRACE OF GOD. by Tranter, Nigel - 1985

London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1985. 368 pp, 8vo (8 3/4" H). "To be King of Scots was never the passport to peace or joy, and for young James the Fifth the throne made an uncomfortable seat indeed. As a boy he had been deliberately corrupted by step-father, the Red Douglas, Earl of Angus, so that he might get both king and kingdom into his power. Even when James escaped from Angus's clutches, he still had that most rebellious and powerful house to cope with. Not to mention the Hamiltons, whose chief, the Earl of Arran, was next in line to the crown. So he did not have his troubles to seek. Add to this, James himself was impetuous, hot-blooded, handsome, with no great interest in matters of state, but an enormous interest in women. While to the south, his uncle Henry the Eighth of England watched every move north of the border, poised to invade. In this second of his trilogy of love and hatred, folly and statesmanship, poetry and martyrdom, Nigel Tranter paints a vivid picture of a turbulent period, a strange friendship, and of James Stewart, by God's grace King - but only just." Tiny mark in margin of pages 366 & 377. Dust jacket has minor edgewear/wrinkling, light browning at top edge, minor rubbing, tiny remainder mark on bottom of text block.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good+/Very Good.