As Queen Elizabeth I lays dying, King James VI of Scotland is waiting to accede to the throne of England. But who will thrive and who will fall under the new King? Will it be the scholar Francis Bacon, whose brilliant mind is the envy of the court? Or his hated rival Edward Cook, the greatest lawyer of his generation?In this episode of Not Just the Tudors — recorded at the Hay Festival of Literature & Arts —Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Jesse Norman MP about his new novel The Winding Stair, an epic tale of jealousy and intrigue in Elizabethan and Jacobean England, which, in its lowest moments, holds a darkened mirror to our own contemporary politics.This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here > You can take part in our listener survey here >For more Not Just The Tudors content, subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter here > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.