The Lost Tudor Princess

November 16, 2015
In this noteworthy biography, Weir (The Marriage Game), a novelist and popular historian of the Tudor period, shows how Lady Margaret Douglas—a now largely forgotten royal claimant—frequently ignored her own safety to further her ambition in spite of her more famous relatives. Margaret, Henry VIII’s niece, spent much of her life angling for greater status and favors, seemingly oblivious to the delicate political situations of the volatile Reformation-era Tudor courts. Her machinations and shifting alliances with the Scottish and French kept Elizabeth I’s extensive spy network busy while endangering Catholic-leaning Margaret’s neck. Love caused Margaret great problems, as it did for so many Tudors, and led to her uncle passing a famously troublesome bill of attainder (a declaration of guilt and punishment without a trial) that she repeatedly violated. What’s perhaps of greatest interest, readers see from Margaret’s perspective the poignant story of her elder son, the infamous Lord Darnley, and his marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots. Through considerable research and with great clarity, Weir reveals how the strong-willed Margaret encapsulated the best and worst of the ambitious Tudor dynasty—stubbornness, passion, tragedy, courage—while leading a fascinating life of her own, to the detriment of England’s well-being. Agent: Julian Alexander, Lucas Alexander Whitley (U.K.).

November 1, 2015
Another story of the relentless striving for power of 16th-century England. Novelist and biographer of Tudor and Elizabethan royalty, Weir (The Marriage Game: A Novel of Queen Elizabeth I, 2015, etc.) turns to Margaret Douglas (1515-1578), granddaughter of Henry VII, niece of Henry VIII, and wife of Matthew Stuart, Earl of Lennox. Even as a young woman, Margaret was ambitious, willful, and sometimes reckless, with "an alarming talent for dangerous intrigue" that emerged repeatedly during her tumultuous life. At the age of 20, she was imprisoned and sentenced to death by Henry VIII for the crime of falling in love with the wrong man. The king spared her, but it was not the last time that she was incarcerated in the Tower of London, mostly on charges of treason but once on witchcraft. Besides fearing for her life, Margaret incurred severe debts from these imprisonments, since prisoners had to pay for their upkeep "and any comforts they required" while being held. When Henry VIII died in 1547, the Catholic Margaret was "cast adrift" into a dangerous world ruled by her adversary, the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I, whom Weir portrays as vengeful and paranoid. For Margaret and her husband, "a cold draught" emanated from the throne. Elizabeth distrusted Margaret, fearful that a repeal of the Act of Succession could identify the Scottish line as having "prior right to the English succession." Indeed, Margaret--like other Catholics--did see Elizabeth "as a bastard, a heretic and a usurper." But with no hope of ousting her, Margaret schemed instead to see her son marry Mary, Queen of Scots, and reign as King of Scotland. Weir provides copious evidence and minute documentation of the betrayals, plots, incendiary gossip, and shifting alliances that characterized Elizabethan England. Excerpts from Margaret's letters show her to be politically savvy, manipulative, and fierce. An abundantly detailed history from an author steeped in England's past.

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Starred review from December 1, 2015

Best-selling author Weir's (Elizabeth of York; The Lady in the Tower; Mistress of the Monarchy) latest book fills a void in her previous nonfiction on the Tudors, focusing on Margaret Douglas (1515-78), who is best known as the mother of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, the unfortunate first husband of Mary, Queen of Scots. This excellent account is meticulously researched and solidly based on evidence found in surviving primary sources. Weir pays particular attention to documents that, at first glance, seem of small interest, such as a handwritten poetry collection and wardrobe records. Through close readings, occasionally line by line, the author demonstrates that these documents indicate more than a cursory examination would reveal. Her use of extended quotations from letters and poems written by the main figures in the Douglas story--Margaret Douglas; her husband Matthew Stewart, Fourth Earl of Lennox; and Queen Elizabeth I--can become a little wearing; however, they allow the historical figure rather than the historian to have center stage in the narrative. VERDICT This is a strong entry into the field of Tudor history. Historians will be interested in the light cast on an understudied figure of the era; general readers will find another excellent addition to Weir's previous Tudor works.--Hanna Clutterbuck, Harvard Univ. Lib., Cambridge, MA

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