Books/TV/Films about the Stuarts

[Romanov_fan]

I think she was quiet in her impact on history, whether that was fortunate or not. But, I think she did have the personality you stated. She seemed frustrated in Holland. Could someone post a list of the best biographies of Charles I's family, if any?

[palatine]

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.

Mary hasn’t attracted much interest from historians, perhaps because she died young and because she was not renowned for her charm and wit the way that Charles II and Minette were.  You can find information about her in biographies of William III, Charles I, Charles II, and Henrietta Maria, and in histories of the Stuart era.  Most of them repeat the same tired story: Mary was a devoted wife, daughter, sister, and mother who spent most of her short life throwing money at her penurious family and playing peacemaker when they squabbled.  A good summation of the party line vis-à-vis Mary can be found in Alison Plowden’s The Stuart Princesses and in Patrick Morrah’s A Royal Family: Charles I and His Family.  For what its worth, Mary wasn’t as boring or as negligible as historians have made her out to be. 

[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.

Mary hasn’t attracted much interest from historians, perhaps because she died young and because she was not renowned for her charm and wit the way that Charles II and Minette were.  You can find information about her in biographies of William III, Charles I, Charles II, and Henrietta Maria, and in histories of the Stuart era.  Most of them repeat the same tired story: Mary was a devoted wife, daughter, sister, and mother who spent most of her short life throwing money at her penurious family and playing peacemaker when they squabbled.  A good summation of the party line vis-à-vis Mary can be found in Alison Plowden’s The Stuart Princesses and in Patrick Morrah’s A Royal Family: Charles I and His Family.  For what its worth, Mary wasn’t as boring or as negligible as historians have made her out to be. 

i bet she wasn't. i would like to read a more detailed account on how louis 14th invaded orange (when she asked him for help) and how she reacted to this...

[Prince_Lieven]

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?

Yes, there is one by Julia Dobson. I think it ends around 1650/51 though.

[Romanov_fan]

What year was it published? As for Mary, I agree that the same stuff tends to get repeated by biographers, because there is little else out there. I guess that is where I got my impression stated earlier from. If they did more research into the life of Mary, maybe more would come out of what she was like, and what she thought.

[Kimberly]

Hi pals . My book club is advertising a book called "Sovereign Ladies" by Maureen Waller. She animates the lives of the Six Queens Regnant by assessing their achievements from a female perspective according to the blurb. It supposedly goes into delicious detail so this might be quite enjoyable.( I myself have gone for "Classical Greek Temples this month, its on special offer )

[Prince_Lieven]

Thanks Kim, I've seen it in the shops! €37 though, I might have to wait for the paperback! Waller's book 'Ungrateful Daughters' is quite good, except that she doesn't modernise spelling in Mary and Anne's letters, which can be irritating!

[Zanthia]

A new movie about the tragic queen, featuring Scarlett Johansson as Mary, is currently in pre-production, and will begin shooting later this year. The premiere is set in 2008.
Scarlett is really getting her feets wet in the tudor era right now. First she plays Mary Boleyn, and now Mary, Queen of Scots.

[Kimberly]

Shame she wasn't available to play QEII instead of Helen Mirren
Its always the same starlets isn't it! (Now I will pull my tongue out of my cheek)

[Kurt Steiner]

Tell me that' Beckham is not going to appear in this film, please.

I've just read that he's going to play some role in a film about the Xmas Truce of 1914 and I'm still under a heavy shock...

Victory or Evasion, without Pele or Stallone, methinks...

[Yseult]

Tell me that' Beckham is not going to appear in this film, please.

My God!!! I can´t imagine Beckham as a lord Darnley or a Rizzio. What a miscasting it would be! 

[Kurt Steiner]

Tell me that' Beckham is not going to appear in this film, please.

My God!!! I can´t imagine Beckham as a lord Darnley or a Rizzio. What a miscasting it would be! 

Perhaps as a  Darnley. Too Brit to be a Rizzio, too "cute" to be a Moray.

[ilyala]

oh but i think the silly foolish but good-looking role of darnley might suit him like a glove!

as the beatles say, all he has to do is 'act naturally' 

[Kimberly]

......and try to string a sentence together

[Prince_Lieven]

Without saying 'init'. And he's not even all that good looking.