This lively collection of ten essays commemorates a conference at the University of Reading in 2003, the 400th anniversary of the accession of James vi to the English throne. The editor provides a general introduction and the final chapter, a valuable survey of the historical vicissitudes of James's reputation from his death in 1625 to 2005. Susan Doran argues that James felt reasonably secure in his as yet unconfirmed prospects as heir to Elizabeth until 1594, when the publication of A conference about the next succession to the crowne of England by the Jesuit Robert Persons, under the pseudonym of R. Doleman, jolted him into realising that a Catholic challenge was not impossible. Doleman's espousal of the Infanta Isabella, elder daughter of Philip ii, galvanised James into vigorous action to assert his claim. John Cramsie discusses the idea of imperial kingship, defined as the unchallenged authority of rulers in both temporal and spiritual matters within their dominions. The years 1598–1604 were crucial in James's ‘performances’ of his vision of imperial kingship, in his writings and his speech to the 1604 parliament. These ‘consciously shifted political exchange to a philosophical-ideological setting’. In his conclusion, however, Cramsie concedes that this was more in the king's mind than in reality: his English subjects, particularly in parliaments, did not take kindly to this mode of discourse and continued to talk of laws and grievances. Alan Cromartie challenges the current consensus by arguing that at the Hampton Court Conference James made no true concessions to Puritan representatives. The outcome was a definite shift away from godly aspirations, from subscription to conformity. Peter Roberts accepts that James was not much interested in the theatre, but shows that his formal patronage of the player companies was significant in averting the proposed imposition of taxes on playgoing and performance. Other chapters discuss the king's poem on the battle of Lepanto; argue that preaching at Paul's Cross on political anniversaries proved effective in promoting James through biblical archetypes of kingship; note that the execution of the last men burnt in England for heresy in 1612 marked a turning point, since onlookers showed obvious sympathy for the victims; and suggest that James's project of manipulating Scripture to reinforce the authority of his own word rebounded, by underlining that he provided only ‘a contestable interpretation’. Laura Stewart concludes that the intense opposition in Edinburgh and Lowlands Scotland to the 1617 Five Articles of Perth, particularly the article enjoining kneeling at communion, fused elite political grievances with popular religious discontent, in the longer term fatally compromising Stuart rule in Scotland. All the essays are readable and contribute to the wider picture, making a valuable contribution to the current re-evaluation of the reigns of James vi and i.