The remarkable rise of George Villiers seemed to defy gravity. The handsome young courtier enraptured James I, who even declared he wanted Villiers to become his 'wife'. For a decade, Villiers was at the king's side - at court, on state occasions and in bed, right up to James's death in March 1625.
Almost immediately, Villiers' many enemies accused him of poisoning the king. A parliamentary investigation was launched, and scurrilous pamphlets and ballads circulated. But the charges came to nothing, and were relegated to a historical footnote.
Now, based on new historical scholarship and forensic investigation, Benjamin Woolley examines whether or not a deadly combination of hubris and vulnerability did indeed drive Villiers to become the king's assassin. The result is a compelling portrait of a royal favourite whose charisma overwhelmed not only those around him but, ultimately, himself.
'Well paced . . . colourful and fun' The Times
'Utterly gripping . . . I devoured it' Elizabeth Fremantle, author of Queen's Gambit and The Girl in the Tower