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 People Who Made History
-
The Man Who Volunteered for Auschwitz
In 1940 the Polish resistance decided it needed to send an agent to Auschwitz concentration camp. They were desperate to find out what was going on in a place that even by that stage of the war had an evil reputation. Historian Jack Fairweather tells the story of Witold Pilecki the Pole who volun...
-
Simon Sebag Montefiore on Stalin
How did a young boy from Georgia become a merciless politician who shaped the Soviet Empire in his own brutal image? Historian and bestselling author, Simon Sebag Montifiore talks to Dan about the rise of Joseph Stalin, a man who caused the death and suffering of tens of millions under his regime...
-
Pinches of Salt and Gold: Uncovering ...
Documentary telling the story of Mansa Musa, the famous 14th century ruler of Mali, renowned for his great wealth. Featuring Professor Amira Bennison, Boubacar Diallo, Hadrien Collet, Mauro Nobili and Madina Thiam.
12 Comments