Books/TV/Films about the Stuarts

[Romanov_fan]

I agree, Stuart Biography leaves much to be desired. Another problem is so much of that stuff seems to be older, and not very modern. It is also hard to find. I thought of the three books I listed ( I know I have read more), the one about William and Mary was pretty good, and I guess that is the only one I would really recommend, if it came down to it. It is really long, and there is much about William and boring battles, but I feel it made me understand Mary's personality and couples marriage much better. But, it is an older book.

[Prince_Lieven]

I'm still waiting for a good biography of these people. By a good biography I would want to understand what they were really like (as if I knew them), but also to understand what the politics of the time were and also the international perspective. I can imagine a biography of Mary II which fulfilled these criteria wpould be fascinating, but instead, we get bits and pieces tacked on to William which are really quite boring and unilluminating.

Also Anne. I've never read anything which adequately explains her relationhip to Sarah Churchill, her attitude to her husband or her brother or her father. These are quite complicated and shifting relationships which can only be analysed in the context of the constantly changing international scene.

Finally William. I think much more needs to be said about his Dutch background - and also of his relationships with Keppel and Bentinck. I think he is quite a pivotal and underestimated figure in British history!

 

I agree, it's really a shame! Maureen Waller's 'Ungrateful Daughters' is ok for info on Mary and Anne, and she has a new book on all the queens regnant of England, so that might have something. They're both still in need of a good moder biographer though, as is William.

[bell_the_cat]

I really think you should have a go sometime PL!

[Prince_Lieven]

In my dreams maybe! 

[bell_the_cat]

Whatever....

One thing to avoid though is double biographies (e.g. William and Mary or Mary and Anne) - they really are the pits! One of the two exits about half way through the book, so that the rest of the book is an anticlimax: " x couldn't really enjoy reigning without y at their side"! Another wretched example is the Margaret and Mary Tudor book which we have so often criticised.

[Romanov_fan]

Yes, I agree. I  don't even know if there are any good biographies of William by himself, and I have read only one of Mary, and it wasn't very good. I think they do that when they feel there is not enough to say about any a specific person, or not enough interest to sustain a whole biography. But while the intentions might be good, the outcome rarely is.

[bell_the_cat]

Another annoying thing about William And Mary Bios.......

They are usually written from an anglo-saxon perspective so they skip over the dutch bit - as if Mary's time in Holland was reaqlly an extended vacation while she waited to be asked to be Queen of England! I wonder if there are any good Dutch biographies of them?

[Modena1]

Ooh, I hope I spelt that right.  Can anyone recommend got biographies on any of the following?

1. Queen Mary II

2. Queen Anne

3. Queen Mary Beatrice of Modena

Thanks! 

For pretty good Mary Beatrice info, try Mary of Modena by Carola Oman and the bio of Mary Beatrice by Martin Haile.

Good sources of info, both a little dated, but nonetheless a good starting point for info on Mary Beatrice. 

[Romanov_fan]

Another annoying thing about William And Mary Bios.......

They are usually written from an anglo-saxon perspective so they skip over the dutch bit - as if Mary's time in Holland was reaqlly an extended vacation while she waited to be asked to be Queen of England! I wonder if there are any good Dutch biographies of them?

For sure, that is true. I think the Anglo- Saxon perspective is what would interest more English readers though, if they were reading the book to learn about English royalty. Personally, I find the Dutch part a bit boring, and I think most biographers tend to focus on the English part, because they assume there will be more interest in it. Obviously, in biographies written from a Dutch perspective, that might not be the case.

[ilyala]

i'd be interested to read something about mary, princess royal, the mother of william. i can't find much about her, except that she thought she married down and she handed her country to louis 14th... and of course, she was william's mother and charles 1st's daughter.

[Prince_Lieven]

i'd be interested to read something about mary, princess royal, the mother of william. i can't find much about her, except that she thought she married down and she handed her country to louis 14th... and of course, she was william's mother and charles 1st's daughter.

Try Alison Plowden's 'Stuart Princesses', it's quite good and has some info on Mary. Antonia Fraser's 'Charles II' mentions her a bit too.

[Romanov_fan]

She seems like she had a quiet enough personality. She died of smallpox, I believe when William was a child, I think it might have been in England. She was undoubtedly shaped by who her father was, but I think there should be more mention of her, because there is little enough. She may have had a quiet personality, but her family background was dynamic. I don't think there is enough to to do much of a biography on her though.

[Prince_Lieven]

She was not a quiet personality in the least, in my opinion. Just because she isn't well known doesn't mean she was quiet. She was the daughter of Charles I and Henrietta Maria from the top of her head to the tip of her toes - she had all of Charles' stubborness, and all of Henrietta Maria's sense of status. She was very close to Charles II, and was capable of great kindness. She done her level best to help the exiled royalists in the 1650s, but she couldn't do much without the permission of the Dutch States General.

[Romanov_fan]

Well, I think the way Charles I died, and the way things were after his death made a great impression on all his children. She seems to have been quite molded by the circumstances of her life, and the fact she was the daughter of Charles I. Perhaps Holland wasn't the best place to show off her abilities or personality. I don't know how well she fit in there. I think there should be a collective bio of all the children of Charles I, does anyone know of any book like this?

[bell_the_cat]

As PL says the Princess of Orange was by all accounts a rather abrasive personality!