Jade Scott

Jade Scott on Captive Queen.

Dr Jade Scott visits the bookshop to discuss her fascinating new biography, Captive Queen: The Decrypted History of Mary, Queen of Scots.

For almost two decades before her execution at Fotheringhay Castle in 1587, Mary Queen of Scots was a prisoner. From her chambers, she wrote countless letters, many encrypted using complex ciphers to prevent her communications from being intercepted. In this way, she used language to exert her will and her influence, even while incarcerated.

Jade Scott, a historian and expert on Mary’s correspondence, explores the hundreds of letters Mary sent during her prison years to reveal how she navigated surveillance and suspicion. In Captive Queen she interrogates Mary’s complex relationships with friends and enemies throughout her long imprisonment, illuminating her strategic expertise, and bringing Mary’s captivity to life like never before.

Dr Jade Scott is a historian and expert on Mary, Queen of Scots' letters. She is an associate in history at the University of Glasgow and an associate fellow of the Royal Historical Society. She lives in Stirling.