When James VI of Scotland and I of England proclaimed himself King of Great Britain he proposed a merger of parliaments as he had joined two crowns in his own person ascending the throne of England in 1603. For James, the Cambro-Celtic past led to an Anglo-Scottish present, and Wales stood as the ideal. Although the parliamentary union of Great Britain was not initiated for another 100 years, Parliament’s denial failed to deter James from wanting a Great Britain, and R. A.’s play The Valiant Welshman became part of the public spectacle of unity required to nurture James’s dream. The Valiant Welshman, the Scottish James, and the Formation of Great Britain considers national, regional and linguistic identity and explores how R.A.’s play promotes Wales, serves King James and reveals what it means to be Welsh and Scots in a newly forming "Great Britain."

A Brief History of Great Britain narrates the history of Great Britain from the earliest times to the 21st century, covering the entire island England, Wales, and Scotland as well as associated archipelagos such as the Channel Islands, the Orkneys, and Ireland as they have influenced British history. The central story of this volume is the development of the British kingdom, including its rise and decline on the world stage. The book is built around a clear chronological political narrative while incorporating treatment of social, economic, and religious issues. Coverage includes: Early Settlements, Celts, and Romans Anglo-Saxons, Scots, and Vikings Scotland, England, and Wales Britain in the Late Middle Ages The Making of Protestant Britain Industry and Conquest Britain in the Age of Empire An Age of Crisis The Age of Consensus A House Divided.

The subject of Britain reads key early seventeenth-century texts by Bacon, Jonson and Shakespeare within the context of the English reign of King James VI and I, whose desire to create a united Britain prompted serious reflection on questions of nationhood. This book traces writing on Britain and Britishness in succession literature, panegyric, Union tracts and treatises, play-texts and atlases and histories. Focusing on texts printed in London and Edinburgh as welI as manuscript material that circulated within and across Britain and Ireland, this book sheds valuable light on texts in relation to the wider geopolitical context that informed their production. Combining literary criticism with the political analysis and book history, this book offers a fresh approach to a signal moment in British history, and will appeal to early modern British literary historians and historians, undergraduates as well as postgraduates.

John Kerrigan's unique study of 17th-century anglophone literature explores remarkable work produced in Wales, Scotland, and Ireland and shows how preoccupied Shakespeare, Milton, and Marvell were with the interactions between the peoples of the British-Irish archipelago. This major book resets the terms of the debate for scholars of the period.

A'Beckett and Leech were original contributors to "Punch, or the London Charivari" magazine, established 1841. It became the famous "Punch" magazine and remained in publication to 2002. A'Beckett also wrote editorials for a similar concept magazine, "Figaro in London" that ceased publication in 1839. "In commencing this work, the object of the Author was, as he stated in the Prospectus, to blend amusement with instruction, by serving up, in as palatable a shape as he could, the facts of English History. He pledged himself not to sacrifice the substance to the seasoning; and though he has certainly been a little free in the use of his sauce, he hopes that he has not produced a mere hash on the present occasion. His object has been to furnish something which may be allowed to take its place as a standing at the library table, and which, though light, may not be found devoid of nutriment."--Preface.