"The Royal Stuarts ruled for over 300 years in Scotland and for a century as the Royal Family of Britain and Ireland. They were leading actors in the foremost political dramas of British history - the Scottish Wars of Independence, the Union of the Crowns, the English Civil War and the Restoration - and remain the most controversial and divisive of royal families. Drawing on the accounts of historians past and present, novels and plays, Allan Massie tells the family's full story, from the salt marshes of Brittany to the thrones of Scotland and England, and then eventual exile. A book which gets beyond the received generalisations, The Royal Stuarts takes us deep into the lives of figures like Mary Queen of Scots, Charles I and Bonnie Prince Charlie, uncovering a family of strong affections and fierce rivalries, the brave and capable, the weak and foolish."--Publisher's description.

The Stewards: origins in legend and history -- Robert II (1371-90): the first Stewart king -- Robert III (1390-1406): a troubled reign -- James I (1406-37): the poet-king -- James II (1437-60): a quick-tempered king -- James III (1460-88): a study in failure -- James IV (1488-1513): the flower of the Scottish Renaissance -- James V (1513-42): people's king or tyrant? -- Mary (1542-67): Scotland's tragic queen -- James VI and I (1567-1625): the king as survivor -- Charles I (1625-49): the martyr king -- The interregnum and the scattered family (1649-60) -- Charles II (1649-85): a merry and cynical monarch -- James VII and II (1685-88): author of his own tragedy -- William III (1689-1702) and Mary II (1689-94): revolution settlement and Dutch rule -- Anne (1702--14): end of an old song -- James VIII and III: Jacobites.