News and Rumour in Jacobean England

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This study examines how political news was concealed, manipulated and distorted in late Jacobean England. Using a wide range of manuscript sources, it examines how news was managed and interpreted during a period of acute political and religious conflict. The book analyses how the flow of information to and from the King was managed by his Secretaries of State and diplomats, and how the King prevented information about his policies from leaking into the wider public sphere. The 'outward shows' James made to signal his intentions and mislead a variety of audiences are investigated, as well as the ways in which these 'performances' could backfire and undermine royal authority. It also examines the sceptical and often cynical reception of news, and the political significance of the rumours that circulated in court and country. This work advances new arguments about censorship, counsel and the formation of policy, propaganda and royal image-making, political rumours and the relationship between elite and popular politics, as well as shedding new light on the nature and success of James I's style of rule. In doing so, it shows news to be a source of influence and even power in Jacobean England.