Mary, Queen of Scots and the Casket Letters

by A.E. MacRobert

Mary Queen of Scots - tragic heroine or adulteress conniving in murder? This book adds to the mysterious drama, covering an historical detective story which has absorbed readers for over 400 years. Yet it is much more than a powerful tale with human tragedy, suffering and death at its heart: it was played out for the highest political stakes - including the stability of the English and Scottish crowns, the Protestant Reformation and threat from powerful European neighbours. The Casket Letters consist of eight letters, twelve love sonnets and two marriage contracts, allegedly written by Mary to Bothwell, later her third husband, appearing to implicate her in the murder of her second husband, Darnley, and proving her adultery. This forensic re-examination of the Casket Letters and contemporary documents, and their long and chequered history, considers the conduct and motives of the principal actors and ventures on ground much-trodden by writers who both condemn and exculpate Mary.

The author guides the reader through the twisting labyrinth of Scottish and English politics; examines possible forgery; rejects Mary's role in Darnley's murder (despite his impossible conduct that included drunkenness, neglect of business and intriguing for the crown); and looks at the change in her attitude to Bothwell. The Casket Letters were a gift to her enemies in England, the Scottish Protestant church and nobility, and led directly to her imprisonment and finally to execution.

296 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Roman Clodia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Useful material but old-fashioned in the questions it asks of it

This is a balanced book in lots of ways, despite the fact that MacRobert himself clearly believes in Mary Stuart's innocence in terms of the accusation that she was complicit in Darnley's murder. So if you want an exhaustively detailed look at the events of 1567-8 then it's probably all here - although not always in the most accessible form as MacRobert skips from 'facts' to 'conjecture' to endless 'conspiracies'.

He does, helpfully, offer transcriptions/translations of the casket letters themselves, as well as the sonnets in French and English.

The reason for only 2-stars from me is that this feels like a very old-fashioned book in terms of the questions it is asking: MacRobert wants to read all the material as either autobiography or forged autobiography in order to ascertain whether or not Mary was involved in a love affair with Bothwell and complicit in her husband's murder. The idea that texts might be rhetorically-invested rather than simply the early modern equivalents of diary entries doesn't enter this book. So this is all about Mary's personality, is she a 'good' or 'bad' woman depending on her relationships, sexual or otherwise, with men. The fact that the sonnets, especially, situate themselves against other literary texts of the period in terms of Petrarchism and/or literary love complaint is ignored here (as is the fact of a woman writing is what is, overwhelmingly, a male-authored genre) and the poetry is thus reduced to simple and straightforward historical evidence rather than something more complicated and literary.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't remember why I decided to read this.

[Shelfari · Rating 2 out of 5]

i read it...recommende by my teacher...i got bored in half of it...gave it up!!