I felt that Mary was there, pulling at my sleeve, willing me to appreciate the artistry, wanting me to understand the dazzle of the material world that shaped her.
In this eloquent cultural biography, Clare Hunter exquisitely blends history, politics and memoir to tell the story of a Queen in her own voice..
From her lavishly embroidered gowns as the prospective wife of the French Dauphin to the fashion dolls she used to encourage a Marian style at the Scottish court and the subversive messages she embroidered in captivity for her supporters, Mary used textiles to advance her political agenda, affirm her royal lineage and tell her own story.
In an age when textiles expressed power, Mary exploited them to emphasise her female agency.
Even for a Queen like Mary, her prime duty was to bear sons.
In sixteenth-century Europe women\'s voices were suppressed and silenced.
Widely known as the colour of strength and passion, it was in fact worn by Mary as the Catholic symbol of martyrdom.
At her execution Mary, Queen of Scots wore red.
I felt that Mary was there, pulling at my sleeve, willing me to appreciate the artistry, wanting me to understand the dazzle of the material world that shaped her
