Mary I of Scotland Totally Explained

Everything about Mary Queen Of Scots totally explained

In culture

Fiction

The most enduring novelistic treatment of Mary is Madame de La Fayette's La Princesse de Clèves, in which the young dauphine features as a major character. Written one and a half centuries later, The Abbot by Sir Walter Scott covers the period of Mary's confinement in Loch Leven castle. Mary's story has also been the subject of a number of more recent novels, including: Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles: A Novel by Margaret George; The Gay Galliard a novel of Mary Queen of Scots, by Margaret Irwin; Royal Road to Fotheringhay: The Story of Mary, Queen of Scots by Jean Plaidy; Fatal Majesty (2000) by Reay Tannahill; "The Other Queen" (2008) by Philippa Gregory . Mary features importantly in The Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett. She is the subject of a short story in Susanna Clarke's 2006 collection of fantasy tales The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories.

In children's literature, novels on Mary, Queen of Scots include: Queen's Own Fool: A Novel of Mary Queen of Scots by Jane Yolen, The Lady of Fire and Tears by Terry Deary, and from the Royal Diaries, Mary, Queen of Scots: Queen Without a Country, France, 1553 by Kathryn Lasky. A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley is about a young girl who finds herself in the time of and in the company of Anthony Babington, who is attempting to free Mary and overthrow Elizabeth.

Theatre

Maria Stuart (Mary Stuart) is an influential play by Friedrich Schiller, (most recently produced in London's West End in 2005, starring Janet McTeer).

The film Mary of Scotland is based on the hit Broadway play by Maxwell Anderson.

Sarah Miles portrayed Mary Queen of Scots on Broadway and the West End in the play Vivat! Vivat Regina! (1971) written by her husband Robert Bolt

Martha Graham choreographed and directed the modern dance titled "Episodes" (1985) that premiered at Lincoln Centre, New York, the dance featured Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I resolving their dynastic issues over a game of tennis.

The Scottish playwright Liz Lochhead explored the relationship between Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart in her play Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off.

Mary's imprisonment and trial are the subject of the play (in verse) The Lifeblood by poet Glyn Maxwell.

Maria Stuart - Königin der Schotten (Waldau Theater Bremen)

Poetry

The 1596 edition of Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene includes an allegorical representation of the trial of Mary Stuart (Book 5, Canto ix, stanzas 36-50). Mary Stuart is represented by Duessa and Elizabeth is figured by Mercilla. The allegory dwells on Elizabeth's reluctance to condemn Mary. Elizabeth's delay of three months before agreeing to have Mary executed is represented by a gap of three stanzas at the end of Canto ix. Mercilla's judgment and Duessa's execution don't actually occur until the beginning of the next Canto (x.1-4)
In Nobel laureate Joseph Brodsky's 20 sonnets to Mary Stuart (in Russian) the poet addresses her as an interlocutor.

Music

Robert Schumann composed a song cycle (Op. 135) based on the life of Mary Stuart. This cycle was among the final works that Schumann composed before he went insane.

Gaetano Donizetti composed the opera Maria Stuarda, based on Schiller's play.

Thea Musgrave composed the opera Mary, Queen of Scots, Edinburgh, 1977.

American progressive metal band Dream Theater uses a variation of the mark of Mary, Queen of Scots, as their trademark "Majesty" symbol.

John Barry, composer of the soundtrack to the 1971 film, wrote two songs, "Wish Now Was Then" and "This Way Mary" with lyricist Don Black based on themes from the film. They were performed by Matt Monro, with the latter song covered by Scott Walker and Johnny Mathis amongst others.

The song "Sad Song" by Lou Reed, featured in the 1973 album Berlin, references Mary in its initial verses.

The song "To France" by Mike Oldfield, featured in the 1984 album Discovery, references Mary in its chorus.

The song "Fotheringay" by The Fairport Convention, featured in the 1969 album What We Did on Our Holidays, is the story of Mary's last days in the prison of Fotheringhay Castle.

The song "The Ballad of Mary (Queen of Scots)" by Grave Digger is about her time in prison.

Film

The two classic film biographies of Mary are the 1936 Mary of Scotland starring Katharine Hepburn as Mary, Florence Eldridge as Elizabeth I and Fredric March as Bothwell, and the 1971 Mary, Queen of Scots starring Vanessa Redgrave as Mary, Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth and Nigel Davenport as Bothwell. One of the most significant inaccuracies in the Redgrave film is the inclusion of scenes in which Mary and her cousin Elizabeth I meet in person. In the 1936 film, Mary and Elizabeth also meet; Elizabeth visits her in prison the night before Mary's execution. The screenplay of the 1936 film was written by Dudley Nichols, based on the stage play Mary of Scotland, by Maxwell Anderson, which was a Broadway success in 1933. The 1971 film was written by John Hale, who also wrote a novelization of the film's screenplay.

Samantha Morton plays Mary in the 2007 film, starring Cate Blanchett.

Television

Gunpowder, Treason & Plot a 2004 Television Mini series by the BBC dramatized the reigns of Scottish monarchs Mary, Queen of Scots and her son King James VI of Scotland who became King James I of England and foiled the Gunpowder Plot. Mary was played by French actress Clémence Poésy.

In the BBC TV production Elizabeth R, Mary was played by Vivian Pickles. This is considered by some to be the most historically accurate portrayal of Mary during her captivity in England.

In the Channel 4 miniseries, Elizabeth I, the first two-hour segment partly centers around the conflict between Mary and Elizabeth. Mary is portrayed by actress Barbara Flynn, and her execution is graphically shown, in a manner that's reportedly true to history.

Monty Python's Flying Circus episode 22 featured a skit involving a "BBC radio drama series" titled "Death of Mary, Queen of Scots".

A 1957 episode of the Wonderful World of Disney titled, "The Truth About Mother Goose", discussed the origins of three nursery rhymes. Series host Walt Disney attributed the Mary Mary Quite Contrary rhyme to the life of Mary Stuart. This episode featured a brief animated short about Mary's life, done in the artistic style of "Sleeping Beauty". The short touched on important moments in Mary's life, even ending with a scene of Mary being marched to her beheading.

An episode of the British series Lovejoy ("The Colour of Mary", series 4) finds the main character seeking information and the whereabouts of Mary's pool table.

Other

Singer Tori Amos portrayed Mary Queen of Scots for a photo shoot in late makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin's book Face Forward (ISBN 0-316-28705-9).

Historical biography and analysis

Marie Stuart (1936) by Stefan Zweig, ISBN-10: 2253150797

Mary Queen of Scots (2006) by Retha Warnicke, ISBN 0-415-29183-6

Queen of Scots by Rosalind K. Marshall, ISBN 1-873644-95-7

Mary Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser, ISBN 0-385-31129-X

"Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Babington conspiracy", by David Alan Johnson, Military Heritage, August 2005, no. 1, Volume 7, ISSN 1524-8666

"Mary Queen of Scots and the French Connection", History Today, 54, 7 (July 2004), pp. 37-43, by Alexander Wilkinson

Elizabeth and Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens (Vintage, 2005) by Jane Dunn, ISBN 0375708200.

Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart (New York, 2004) by John Guy, ISBN 0618254110

Mary Queen of Scots and French Public Opinion, 1542-1600 (Palgrave, 2005) by Alexander Wilkinson, ISBN 1-4039-2039-7 (hdbk)

Mary Queen of Scots: A Study in Failure (London, 1988) by Jenny Wormald, ISBN 0-540-01131-2

Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Murder of Lord Darnley (New York, 2003) by Alison Weir, ISBN 0-345-43658-X

Popular fiction and drama

Mary, Queen of Scots by Sally Stepanek (young adult fiction)

Wallenstein and Mary Stuart by Friedrich Schiller

Mary of Scotland, a play by Maxwell Anderson

The Queen's Own Fool by Jane Yolen and Robert J. Harris

Immortal Queen by Elizabeth Byrd

Shadow Queen, a supernatural novel by Tony Gibbs

The Marchman; Warden of the Queen's March; The Queen's Grace by Nigel Tranter

Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles by Margaret George

Court of Shadows by Cynthia Morgan, a suspense novel

Fatal Majesty by Reay Tannahill

Mary, Queen of Scots: A Queen without a country by Kathryn Lasky

Many plays and films on Elizabeth I (eg Elizabeth I) also feature MaryFurther Information

Get more info on 'Mary Queen Of Scots'.

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