1 and 2 Kings are considered as one book in the Jewish tradition. They cover the historical period from the death of David right up to the Babylonian conquest, and much of it is depressing, with one or two bright spots. It includes the division of Israel into two kingdoms, north and south. "Israel" was the northern kingdom, and Judah the southern kingdom. The two kingdoms were often opposed to each other as well. Israel was the more apostate of the two, and fell to Assyria after about 200 years. However, the history if the two kingdoms is interwoven, and God clearly has a single plan for Israel.
While there are a few kings who do good, they mostly fail at the end as well. There are also a number of prophets. Elijah and Elisha are the two most famous ones who figure in 1 and 2 Kings. The other prophets, though occasionally mentioned, have their own books elsewhere in the Bible (eg Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc). The prophets and kings are often in conflict with each other.
The time frame represented is roughly 970 BC to 586 BC.
The author (or authors) are not known. The books were probably written around 550 BC, this was during the time of the Babylonian exile. There are references to the annals of Solomon, annals of the kings of Israel, annals of the kings of Judah. So clearly the author(s) made use of other written materials.
One of the recurring themes is the demand for purity of worship. There is one place of worship, the temple, and all other worship was evil. Likewise, there is only one to the Father, and this is through Jesus Christ. There can be no mixing with the ways of the nations.
The primary purpose of the books is to show how God worked in the history of the nation.
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