Mary’s biography is enormously dramatic, packed with romance, betrayal, imprisonment and violence. Unsurprisingly, it has proved irresistible to film-makers, recreating a time when two queens vied for power - Mary in Scotland and Elizabeth I in England. Their relationship was blighted with mistrust, plotting and espionage.
Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr Joanne Paul, author of ‘The House of Dudley: A New History of Tudor England’; Jessie Childs author of "God’s Traitors - Terror and Faith in Elizabethan England"; historian and screenwriter Alex von Tunzelmann; and Prof. Sarah Churchwell, cultural historian and literary scholar. Together they unpick the fact from the fiction and dig into some of the big questions: did Mary and Elizabeth ever meet, what really happened at Mary’s execution, how did the entangled sexual politics play out, and is it ever possible to cram all of Mary’s chaotic action-packed life into a single movie?
As ever in one of our 'Not Just the Tudors…Lates' episodes, the stage is set for frank, hilarious and revealing conversation.
Up Next in Early Modern
-
The English Parish Church: An Introdu...
In this introduction to the English Parish Church, Alice Loxton travels across the country to uncover some gems of England’s heritage. From the whitewashing of the Reformation to Wesley’s hymns to William Morris’ efforts to preserve the past, there is lots to discover. And Alice is joined around ...
-
The British Republic
The Commonwealth of England between 1649 and 1660 is one of the least talked about, yet most defining, periods in British history. Paul Lay comes on the show to discuss this momentous decade, when Britain was a republic.
-
Margaret Beaufort: Mother of the Tudors
Nicola Tallis comes on the show to talk about the extraordinary Margaret Beaufort: 'Mother of the Tudors' and the ancestor of all subsequent royals.
15 Comments