Review: Stuart Spouses by Heather R Darsie

Synopsis: Stuart Spouses looks at the oft-overshadowed consorts of the Stuart monarchs, from 1406 to 1714. By focusing on these people and detailing their rises to matrimony, the trials and tribulations of their courtships, and the impact their unions and dissolutions had on the kingdoms of Scotland, England, Ireland, and Wales, one learns not only the history of these kingdoms but the true, sometimes soft, power behind the throne.

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Personally, much of what is contained in this tome is not new to me. I would consider this to be more of an introductory tome for those new to Stuart history and its personalities. It also includes the interregnum period in which Cromwell and his son ruled - I am presuming for chronological purposes, and finishes with the installation of the House of Hanover. Finally, there is the inclusion of poems, written wither by or for the spouses. Though must say, glad to see the inclusion of the male consorts!

Recommended purely as an introductory tome for this period in both English and Scottish history.

Review: Daughters of the North by Jennifer Morag Henderson

Synopsis: Mary, Queen of Scots’ marriage to the Earl of Bothwell is notorious. Less known is Bothwell’s first wife, Jean Gordon, who extricated herself from their marriage and survived the intrigue of the Queen’s court.

Daughters of the North reframes this turbulent period in history by focusing on Jean, who became Countess of Sutherland. Follow her from the intrigues of Mary’s court to the blood feuds and clan battles of the Far North of Scotland, from her place as the daughter of the ‘King of the North’ to her disastrous union with the infamous Earl of Bothwell – and her lasting legacy to the Earldom of Sutherland.

Whilst the focus of the reign of Mary Queen of Scots has quite naturally been on the lady in question, her reign, intrigues, and ultimate downfall, very few of those who were present have actually been the focus of their own dedicated narrative. In Daughters of the North, Henderson "reframes" or "shifts the focus" of the Stuart Queen's narrative to the north of Scotland - a place where we find her contemporary and possible rival, Jean Gordon.

Jean's life is detailed in two parts - the first focusing on her childhood and her time at the court of Mary Stuart (c. 1545 - 1576); and the second dedicated to her own sphere of influence amongst her family and the new political power base of the regency of the infant King James (c. 1576 - 1617).

What many may not realise is that, for better or worse, the Gordon family held the delicate balance of power in Scotland in their hands.  This was not fully realised and appreciated until after the family's downfall which created a power vacuum and a deadly rivalry for political control. The young Jean had not only witnessed the deaths of her father and brother, but the loss of her home and the ignominy of being in service to the one person responsible - Mary Stuart. Like many women of not only her own age but of that before, Jean was forced to abandon the man she loved to marry one she disliked for political reasons.

We then delve deeper into Jean's marriages - all three of them - her family life, and the role of both herself and her husband in the North and at the court of King James VI of Scotland (later I of England). Through it all, Jean clung tightly to her religion, which was at odds with the nation, and gathered many enemies along the way - the Gordons devoutly refused to convert from Catholicism.

Jean was rather a unique figure - by the later 16th century, women had begun to have agency within the local economy and were able to wield some influence in their own circles. For Jean - the circle was always the family, and those linked by blood or marriage, were drawn and held tightly within. Even in her 70s, Jean was still seen as a person who had the potential to be influential, someone powerful who needed to be controlled, as she had a strong belief in what was due to her family and  actively and steadfastly promoted her family interests.

Aged in her 80s when she died, Jean had outlived all her brothers and sisters, all three of her husbands, four of her children, two queens, and one king. As matriarch of the Gordon family, she was the glue that held it all together, and on her passing, it collapsed in a heap around the remaining family members.

Henderson brings her extensive research to the fore in crafting a highly readable narrative around a woman who lived during a tumultuous time in Scottish history. The reader will be amazed and in awe of this incredible woman, who story was deserving of being told in its own right.

Further reading:

• Jean Gordon (wikipedia)
• The Sutherland Book - Volume 1 - Memoirs
• The Sutherland Book - Volume 2 - Correspondence
• The House of Gordon

Review: Royal Flush by Margaret Irwin

Synopsis: This is not an historical novel in the ordinary sense. It is something new: the life of an actual royal family, whose story is so rich and varied that it falls naturally into the form of a modern novel. The heroine is that `Minette`, princess of England, Duchess of Orleans, who linked to dramatically the fate of her brother, Charles II, with that of her cousin, Louis XIV.

Henrietta was youngest daughter of King Charles I of England and his wife, Henrietta Maria of France. Fleeing England with her governess at the age of three, she moved to the court of her first cousin Louis XIV of France, where she was known as Minette. Her childhood was spent in near penury and as a persona non grata, dominated by the vagaries of the generosity of the French Court.  That is until her brother Charles became King of England (1660) - then her fortune and that of her family changed.  

A favourite of Louis since childhood, Henrietta was married Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, brother of King Louis XIV, known as Monsieur, she became known as Madame (1661). Her marriage was marked by frequent tensions. Philippe's lifestyle was the subject of much scandal through the court, and her own personal life was less morally upright so much so that the paternity of her children was in doubt.

".. a hundred eyes, a hundred tongues, all working against me ..."

Henrietta was instrumental in negotiating the Secret Treaty of Dover between England and France which her brother Charles had been attempting since 1663.  But tragedy was to strike all too soon; and that same month she met an unexpected death.  Rumours of poison abounded and the finger of suspicion pointed to Philippe and his entourage.  Fate would deal Henrietta's eldest daughter a similar hand - she too would die in circumstances similar to her mother nearly twenty years later.

To be completely honest, I wasn't a fan.  I did not like the writing style though can appreciate it was written in the earlier half of the 20th century.  I felt no empathy with the character of Minette as represented here.  I found the storyline hard to follow at times as other characters took centre stage.  There is no clear timeline - for someone not au fait with this period, this would be very confusing.  It is a highly romanticised account of this tragic Stuart Princess, which fell flat.

At the very start of the book the author claims although this is a novel, it's not "but something new". A great contradiction I could not find - and what was the actual point of this statement - I am still left wondering.

So glad there are much more current and up-to-date books covering Henrietta Stuart, as well as a few older ones which given her much better treatment.

Edit:
After some contemplation, I feel I may have been a bit harsh.  I fear I have committed the cardinal sin of judging something that is considerably older by today's standards.


Though the fact remains that I did not like the book or the style of  writing, I must return now and give the author - Margaret Irwin - her due credit.  Her books were written nearly a century ago - access to historical details would have been mostly through academic resources, local histories, or books written earlier than the author's own.  The research would have been painstakingly slow - something that I myself was familiar with when writing long before the internet existed.

I am actually intrigued by the fact that aside from her many historical novels, she wrote a biography on Walter Raleigh - That Great Lucifer.  Think I will try and track down this one.

So my humblest apologies dear Margaret; my criticism was for the book and not your good self.

further reading;

Brother to the Sun King: Philippe, Duke of Orleans by Nancy Nichols Barker

The Tragic Daughters of Charles I by Sarah-Beth Watkins

Madame: A Life of Henrietta, Daughter of Charles I & Duchess of Orleans by Julia Cartwright

Lives of the Last Four Princesses of the Royal House of Stuart by Agnes Strickland

Five Stuart Princesses edited by Robert S Rait

Lives of the Tudor & Stuart Princesses by Agnes Strickland

Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King by Antonia Fraser

A Prince of Pleasure: Philip of France and His Court, 1640-1701 by Hugh Stokes

My dearest Minette: the letters between Charles II and his sister Henrietta, Duchesse d'Orléans by Charles II of England

Rebellion by Tim Harris

A gripping new account of one of the most important and exciting periods of British and Irish history: the reign of the first two Stuart kings, from 1567 to the outbreak of civil war in 1642 - and why ultimately all three of their kingdoms were to rise in rebellion against Stuart rule.

Both James VI and I and his son Charles I were reforming monarchs, who endeavoured to bolster the authority of the crown and bring the churches in their separate kingdoms into closer harmony with one another. Many of James's initiatives proved controversial - his promotion of the plantation of Ulster, his reintroduction of bishops and ceremonies into the Scottish kirk, and his stormy relationship with his English parliaments over religion and finance - but he just about got by. Charles, despite continuing many of his father's policies in church and state, soon ran into difficulties and provoked all three of his kingdoms to rise in rebellion: first Scotland in 1638, then Ireland in 1641, and finally England in 1642. 

Was Charles's failure, then, a personal one; was he simply not up to the job? Or was the multiple-kingdom inheritance fundamentally unmanageable, so that it was only a matter of time before things fell apart? Did perhaps the way that James sought to address his problems have the effect of making things more difficult for his son? Tim Harris addresses all these questions and more in this wide-ranging and deeply researched new account, dealing with high politics and low, constitutional and religious conflict, propaganda and public opinion across the three kingdoms - while also paying due attention to the broader European and Atlantic contexts.

The Betrayal of Mary, Queen of Scots by Kate Williams

Elizabeth and Mary were cousins and queens, but eventually it became impossible for them to live together in the same world. This is the story of two women struggling for supremacy in a man’s world, when no one thought a woman could govern. They both had to negotiate with men—those who wanted their power and those who wanted their bodies—who were determined to best them. In their worlds, female friendship and alliances were unheard of, but for many years theirs was the only friendship that endured. They were as fascinated by each other as lovers; until they became enemies. Enemies so angry and broken that one of them had to die, and so Elizabeth ordered the execution of Mary. But first they were each other’s lone female friends in a violent man’s world. 

Their relationship was one of love, affection, jealousy, antipathy—and finally death. This book tells the story of Mary and Elizabeth as never before, focusing on their emotions and probing deeply into their intimate lives as women and queens. They loved each other, they hated each other—and in the end they could never escape each other.

Review @ Christian Science Monitor: 

Mary’s story has been often told, but it has been interpreted differently through the generations. While some earlier historians viewed the queen as complicit in her rape and subsequent marriage, Williams analyzes events with a modern perspective, incorporating what we now know about the trauma of sexual assault. The author also stresses how the two queens, unlike kings who governed autocratically, were consistently forced to relinquish some of their power. In framing Mary’s story as being one about “how we really think of women and their right to rule,” Williams hints at its ongoing resonance.