Just a Queen (23 page)

JAMES VI OF SCOTLAND and I OF ENGLAND (1566–1625)

The only son of Mary, Queen of Scots, he came to the throne of Scotland aged thirteen months after his mother had been forced to abdicate. In 1603 he also inherited the English throne after Elizabeth I's death, uniting the thrones of Scotland and England and beginning the Stuart dynasty.

JAMES STUART, 1st EARL OF MORAY (1531–1570)

The illegitimate son of James V and half brother to Mary, Queen of Scots, he became Regent of Scotland on the accession of the infant James VI.

PATRICK GRAY, 6th LORD GRAY, MASTER OF GRAY (unknown–1612)

A favourite of James VI, he played a double game with the young king, working secretly to keep Mary, Queen of Scots in gaol. James sent him to Elizabeth I to plead for Mary's life.

OTHERS

PHILIP II OF SPAIN (1527–1598)

One time brother-in-law to Elizabeth I via his marriage to Mary Tudor, he was one of the most powerful monarchs of his time. At first her suitor, he eventually became her most feared adversary.

CHARLES II, ARCHDUKE OF AUSTRIA (1540–1590)

Erstwhile suitor of both Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots, he eventually married Maria Anna of Bavaria and had fifteen children.

ROBERTO DI RIDOLFI (1531–1612)

An Italian banker living in London, he was the chief architect of the plot to marry Mary, Queen of Scots to the Duke of Norfolk and place her on the English throne. He escaped retribution by fleeing to Paris.

SAINT EDMUND CAMPION (1540–1581)

An English Jesuit priest who was executed for high treason. He was canonised in 1970 as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.

JOHN BALLARD (unknown–1586)

English Jesuit priest executed for his part in the Babington plot to assassinate Elizabeth I.

CHRISTINE DE PIZAN (1364–1430)

An Italian French author, her most famous works were
The book of the city of the
ladies
and
The treasure of the city of the ladies
.

Author's Note

Like its predecessor
Just a Girl
,
Just a Queen
is a novel, not a biography. This gives me special privileges. I can invent conversations, thoughts and feelings to give life to my characters and (hopefully) make them feel as vivid as they did in their real lives. As an avid fan of this period of history and of Elizabeth Tudor herself, what I have not done, however, is invent any characters, major events or incidences.

There has been no need to do so. Elizabeth Tudor – as a neglected princess in
Just a Girl
and a powerful queen in
Just a Queen
– lived an exciting life in very turbulent times. What happens within these pages actually happened; how those involved reacted to these events, however, I have imagined. Occasionally, where appropriate, I have even used their own words, although I have simplified the language to make their meaning more accessible to the modern reader.

The driving force behind these two books has been my own curiosity about how it must have felt to be Elizabeth Tudor. In
Just a Girl
, I explored Elizabeth's early life, from birth to coronation, a time when she lived in real fear for her safety. In
Just a Queen
,
Elizabeth is still in danger but is now much better protected due to her status as monarch. This second volume is really an exploration of what it must have been like for a woman – an unmarried woman – to wield power in such a patriarchal society.

It is also, of course, an exploration of the fatal rivalry between Elizabeth I and her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots. But, as it is Elizabeth who tells us her story, Mary is always seen through her eyes. I leave it to another novelist to bring this equally fascinating female figure to life.

As a novelist I owe a particular debt to the historians and biographers on whose brilliant books I have relied to research my story. I owe a special debt to Alison Plowden's biography
Elizabeth I
(Sutton Publishing Ltd, 2004) and Peter Ackroyd's
Tudors: the history of England volume II
(Pan Macmillan, 2012). Their attention to detail, lively writing and different perspectives meant their books were the ones I turned to over and over. However, all the books mentioned in the bibliography have had an influence on this novel. If reading
Just a Queen
has awakened a further interest in Elizabeth Tudor and Mary Stuart, the books listed in the bibliography would be a great place for you to start learning more.

Bibliography

Ackroyd, Peter, 2012,
Tudors: the history of England volume II
,
Pan Macmillan, London.

Borman, Tracy, 2009,
Elizabeth's women: the hidden story of the Virgin Queen
,
Vintage, London.

De Lisle, Leanda, 2014,
Tudor: the family story
,
Vintage, London.

Dunn, Jane, 2003,
Elizabeth and Mary: cousins, rivals, queens
,
Flamingo, London.

Gristwood, Sarah, 2007,
Elizabeth and Leicester
,
Bantam Books, London.

Hutchison, Robert, 2009,
House of treason: the rise and fall of a Tudor dynasty
, Phoenix, London.

Jenkins, Elizabeth, 2000,
Elizabeth the great
,
Phoenix, London.

Johnson, Paul, 1974,
Elizabeth I: a study in power and intellect
,
Weidenfeld & Nicholson, London.

Lovell, Mary S, 2005,
Bess of Hardwick: first lady of Chatsworth
, Abacus, Great Britain.

Martyn, Trea, 2008,
Elizabeth in the garden
,
Faber & Faber, London.

Plowden, Alison, 2004,
Elizabeth I
,
Sutton Publishing Ltd, Great Britain.

Porter, Linda, 2013,
Crown of thistles: the fatal inheritance of Mary Queen of Scots
,
Pan Books, London.

Shapiro, James, 2005,
1599: a year in the life of William Shakespeare
, Faber & Faber, London.

Tillyard, EMW, 1943,
The Elizabethan world picture
,
Chatto & Windus, London.

Weir, Alison, 2009,
Elizabeth the qu
een
,
Vintage Books, London.

Acknowledgements

When I first had the idea of writing a trilogy of novels about the life of Elizabeth Tudor told in her voice, a friend called it a big, hairy, audacious goal. There is no doubt he was right, given that I had never written a novel before I embarked on this adventure.

No one was more astonished than I was, therefore, when Kristina Schulz from UQP accepted the first instalment,
Just a Girl
, about Elizabeth's early life and published it in 2011.

I was even more delighted when UQP commissioned the second instalment
Just a Queen.
More
over, they waited patiently while I took the time I needed to research and write the story of how Elizabeth Tudor eventually did what she had always said she would not do – execute an anointed queen. I owe all the people at UQP an enormous debt: Kristina Schulz and Madonna Duffy for taking a punt on me twice, and Michele Perry and Kristy Bushnell who took over supervision of my writing journey while Kristina was on maternity leave (welcome Thomas). Meredene Hill has been a constantly warm, encouraging and efficient presence as my first novel's publicist. I have literally lost count of the number of promotional gigs she organised for me to promote
Just a Girl.
It is largely due to her efforts that the book has been reprinted.

Thank you also to Georgia Blain, a novelist I admire, for her sympathetic and imaginative reading of the manuscript and her generous endorsement. The judgement of your peers always means a great deal.

For a second time, I owe a major debt to my superb editor Mark Macleod, who cheerfully took on both of these novels and wrangled them into much better shape than I could ever have managed on my own. And, of course, I owe everything to my husband Ralph and daughters Polly and Charlotte who are unfailing in their love, support, humour and encouragement.

I am also very grateful to everyone who read
Just a Girl
. It is entirely due to you that this second instalment exists at all. It will also be up to you if I get to write the third book and so fully achieve my original big, hairy, audacious goal.

Fingers crossed.

First published 2015 by University of Queensland Press

PO Box 6042, St Lucia, Queensland 4067 Australia

www.uqp.com.au

[email protected]

© Jane Caro 2015

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Cover design by Jo Hunt

Cover photograph
©
Viona Ielegems / Trevillion Images

Author photograph by David Hahn

Typeset in 11/16 pt ITC Galliard by Post Pre-press Group, Brisbane

Printed in Australia by McPherson's Printing Group, Melbourne

Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

National Library of Australia

http://catalogue.nla.gov.au

Caro, Jane, author.

Just a queen / Jane Caro.

ISBN 978 0 7022 5362 1 (pbk)

ISBN 978 0 7022 5509 0 (pdf)

ISBN 978 0 7022 5510 6 (epub)

ISBN 978 0 7022 5511 3 (kindle)

Elizabeth I, Queen of England, 1533–1603 – Fiction.

Mary, Queen of Scots, 1542–1587 – Fiction.

Queens – Great Britain – Biography – Fiction.

Great Britain – History – Elizabeth, 1558–1603 – Fiction.

A823.4

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