Blood of Kings: The Stuarts, the Ruthvens and the 'gowrie Conspiracy'

by J.D. Davies

Blood of Kings is a story of murder, lust for power, and revenge. It is the story of a plot to kill King James Stuart that proved far more dangerous to his life than the nearly contemporary Gunpowder Plot—a plot so devilish that Shakespeare used it as the basis for Macbeth. Blood of Kings reveals startling evidence that links the Gowrie Conspiracy of 1600 to an assassination that changed the course of European history, and considers the possibility that the bloodline of Mary Queen of Scots—down to and including the present royal family—might have no legitimate right to the throne. The book focuses on the Gowrie Conspiracy of 1600. On 5 August of that year, John Ruthven and his brother Alexander were killed in mysterious circumstances in front of King James VI of Scots, soon to be James I of England. The book focuses on what actually happened on that day and why it happened.

Genres: History

304 pages, Hardcover

First published October 21, 2010

About the author

Author of 'The Journals of Matthew Quinton', a series of naval historical fiction set in the Restoration period, and of non-fiction books including 'Pepys's Navy' and 'Blood of Kings'. Currently living in Bedfordshire, UK, but originally from Llanelli in West Wales.