Embroidering Her Truth: Mary Queen of Scots and the Language of Power

by Clare Hunter

At her execution Mary, Queen of Scots wore red. Widely known as the colour of strength and passion, it was in fact worn by Mary as the Catholic symbol of martyrdom.

In sixteenth-century Europe women's voices were suppressed and silenced. Even for a queen like Mary, her prime duty was to bear sons. In an age when textiles expressed power, Mary exploited them to emphasise her female agency. 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 this eloquent cultural biography, Clare Hunter exquisitely blends history, politics and memoir to tell the story of a queen in her own voice.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Historical, Scotland, Fashion, Art

416 pages, Hardcover

First published March 17, 2022

About the author

Clare Hunter has sewn since she was a child. She has been a banner-maker, community textile artist and textile curator for over twenty years and established the community enterprise NeedleWorks in Glasgow. She was a finalist of the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award with a story published in its 2017 Annual. She was also a recipient of a Creative Scotland Award in 2016. She lives near Stirling in Scotland. Threads of Life is her first book.
http://www.sewingmatters.co.uk

Reviews

[Katlyn Vanwinkle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I deeply loved this book. I’ve been obsessed with this time period since i was a little girl and always had a fascination with Mary Queen of Scots, but i will admit that most of my knowledge came from pop culture and tidbits picked up from learning about the Tudors.

This book was absolutely made for me. I love needlecrafts and I had just finished my masters dissertation arguing for better representation of craftswomen in Glasgow, specifically those that used embroidery as a means of expressing political stances at the turn of the century.

I was so excited to finally have a chance to read this book, i loved how the author correlated her personal experiences regarding the remnants of Queen Mary’s life with historical research, how she humanized a historical figure and explained better than i’ve ever seen before how Mary truly tried to do the best for her country and was repeatedly taken advantage of or mislead by the men in her life. I also appreciated how the author explained just how intimate Mary and Elizabeth were with each other, how much they truly cared for each other and how hard it was for them to be in their respective positions.

This book was also so illuminating in explaining how fabric and textiles were used as social currency and how much thought and subtext went into giftgiving, especially in regards to clothing, fabric or needlecrafts.

I seriously loved this book and hopefully will one day get to use it as a reference in my own research/ argument for better treatment and protection of art/ art objects made by women and other under-represented artists in museums.

[Virtuella · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contains:
- A fairly engaging biographic sketch of Mary with a laudable feminist perspective.
- Various things that are interesting, especially about customs and attitudes at these Renaissance courts.
- Many things that are speculative, and I did not like that the author sometimes presents her speculations as quasi facts by saying that this or that “would have been” the case.
- A chapter about a small number of Mary’s embroideries, not in much depth and with virtually no information about technique. Instead of telling us what stitches Mary used, the author tells us (without any evidence) what Mary thought and felt while stitching.
- Much that is irrelevant to the declared topic of the book, especially the author’s often gratuitous anecdotes from her own life.
- Various errors of punctuation, syntax, and fact, questionable word choices, and struggles with measurements.

Not a terrible book, but considering the title and blurb, I was disappointed that most of the book was not about embroidery (Mary's or anyone's) and that even though a fair number of her embroideries survive, only four are depicted and discussed in the book.

[Simona Tselova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Instead of digging into Prince Harry's memoir, I delved five centuries back into (in my opinion) a much more tragic royal tale – the one of Mary, Queen of Scots.

In contrast to other biographies, this book is so much more than just a dry historical account – so much so, that I struggle to describe it in a manner that does it justice. It’s informational, inspiring, emotional, and empowering. It looks into the cryptic commentary of embroidery and needlework – a topic so thoroughly overlooked in the study of history; and it does it in a way that leaves me hungry to learn more. It's amazing how something as seemingly simple as a stitch or a pattern can convey so much meaning!

When it comes to Mary’s story, what is there to say, really? When introducing Lesley Smith (the Curator of Tutbury Castle) in her book, Clare Hunter says that ‘she rekindles the human appeal of the Scottish queen’ and ‘connects her audience to a Mary who is not just a famous figure in history, but also a person and a prisoner.’ To me, Embroidering Her Truth does exactly that.

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name · Rating 2 out of 5]

Royal reads 2024

The only reason I rated this two stars is because I had no idea what the narrator was talking about. I can’t even sew on a button, and I can’t remember how many people have attempted to teach me. Mary Queen of Scots (MoS) was unable to do much of anything for decades but embroider. Although I know what that is, what it looks like, I’ve seen it done, the sheer fortitude needed to create a lot of these pieces must be massive, and I cannot imagine taking on such a project-one when she took one massive amounts.
Also I didn’t enjoy what seemed to me to be jumps to the present like the author was on vacation? It broke the narrative for me. I didn’t realize it would do that. Another one of those times when maybe reading the synopsis may have helped. I just don’t like reading those. I want to go in blind.
I do see that there are quite a few five stars so I will still recommend this book. I didn’t hate it. It’s just that I won’t read it again. It fits my two star requirements. And I’m keeping the book for my Royal nonfiction collection.

For those reading I’m still taking recommendations and suggestions.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Clare Hunter's previous book Threads of Life: A History of the World Through the Eye of a Needle, so was very excited to purchase this book (which is weird for me, I usually borrow everything from the library). I was not disappointed! I knew very little of the life of Mary, Queen of Scots, apart from her having her head cut off, so it was intriguing to learn her story through the eyes of someone who loves embroidery.

I learned that much of what we know of Mary is mythology, much of it used and adapted to discredit or sanctify her life. Of course, she was much more complex, and the idea of her deliberately constructing her appearance (through her dress) to show power, allegiance, and send political messages was intriguing and fascinating. It even make me think about the fashions I choose to wear, and the political messages I may be sending. Hmm....

One of the most eye-opening insights from this book was how much we have misunderstood castle interiors. The opulence of the hand-embroidered, gilded velvets, tapestries, and soft-furnishings is something that movies get wrong all the time. I loved the way that Hunter described these - I have always found the interiors of castles in movies (and real life) to be so stark and odd. The way I think about castle interiors, and the daily life of those who lived in them, has been completely transformed by this book!

[Gerry Grenfell-Walford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really appreciated this fresh angle on MQoS' life as revealed via the media of fabric, embroidery, fashion, and pomp. Thus instead of dry and abstract conceptions, the materiality of the past is conveyed in dramatic and almost tactile fashion (pun intended!).
Very interesting and telling, and frankly does much to leaven what is not always a cheerful or edifying life. Not only do I finish the book with new sympathy for her difficulties, Hunter gives life through considering Mary's court and pageantry, to the world that the Reformation in Scotland swept away. The gorgeous abbeys and churches with their accumulated baggage and vitality of a thousand years of culture. The court of Scotland which was never again quite so cosmopolitan or glamorous. Mary's heir, James, was steeped in protestantism and in any case moved the royal court south to London as soon as he could. I love books like this that show us, teasingly, what was once, and how different things could easily have been.

[Cheryl Gibbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book thinking it would be an interesting novel about the Scottish Queen. When I started I found that it was a non-fiction book about Mary Queen of Scots and how she used embroidery fulfil her life as a Catholic Queen in a Protestant Scotland and then her empty days as a prisoner of her cousin, Elizabeth I of England. Although I am interested in the fabric and thread arts myself, reading about another person's craft from nearly 500 years ago felt like the last thing I wanted to read about. But while each chapter opened with a discussion of Mary's embroidery and fabrics ordered for her household, there was more written about her life as the Scottish Queen and her death as an English prisoner. I enjoy the history of the Royal Family but have read little about Mary. This book gave me a new insight into another of its members.

A very enjoyable read for a Royal history buff.

[Nia Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent text that shows the importance of textiles and embroidery through history , and how a woman's power was demonstated through her knowledge of, and access to them. Excellent read!

[Galena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was handed this book as a recommendation, as an exploration into the expressions of women's textiles in a time when their words were rarely heard. The cover is unfortunately misleading, and very few moments in the book actually refer to Mary's use of embroidery - instead it relies on royal reciepts of fabric purchases to draw conclusions.
Once I had accepted that it wasn't a deep-dive into her own textile work, I did find the history of Mary Queen of Scots interesting, especially from a sympathetic female/feminist perspective. I left with a lot of feeling for Mary, and I think it was a graciously painted picture of her especially considering how vague our understanding of her personality seems to be.

But the author has added totally random personal asides that took me out of the narrative every other chapter - finishing a passage by explaining a dream she had, or randomly referencing a friend who passed away (never mentioned previously) and linking their plight to Mary's. Many chapters often begin with a jolting present-day scene of the author exploring one physical building of Mary's history, twice accompanied by very trivial details of her keychain-tourist purchases at the gift shops (rubber duck? live,laugh,love mug?)

The cover is beautiful, and the premise exactly what I'd hoped, but the book wasn't at all what the front cover, back synopsis or title lead the reader to think it is :(

[Lauren McCain · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 🌟

amazing. so amazing, it took me months to read & soak up all the details. going to rewatch reign now.

“For her final public appearance, Mary wore a gown of black figured satin with a long train and a transparent white veil edged in delicate bone lace, a form of fine lace made from thread wound on bone bobbins: dark and light, strength and frailty, body and soul. Her gown was adorned with buttons representing acorns, symbolic of the spirit. Her long black sleeves were underlaid with others of purple velvet, a small claim of royalty.

Around her neck she wore an Agnus Dei (a wax disc etched with the image of the lamb of Christ) and around her waist she had wound two rosaries. In one hand she clutched a prayer book, thought to be her Book of Hours, in which over the years she had inscribed prayers and poems and collected signatures. In the other she held a small crucifix.

Janet Kennedy and Elizabeth Curle began to unpin the queen's outer garments. As they did so, Mary's final material drama was revealed. Underneath her black gown she was wearing a petticoat and bodice of blood red, the liturgical colour of martyrdom: symbolic of human sacrifice.
It is said that red was also the colour of Anne Boleyn's petticoat at the time of her execution. Its reprise suggested a connection between Mary's fate and that of Elizabeth's mother, to the tragedy of a queen put to death in order to further the ambitions of men.”

[Ravian Ruys · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this book. If you're like me and are interested in the time period and/or the role objects, fabrics and art play in our lives, then I'm sure you'll love it too.

Ever since I first heard her story as a little kid, I've felt some form of kinship with Mary, Queen of Scots. It's an uneasy kinship, negotiating centuries of feeling, the complications of gender and the fact that Mary was a queen and I am most certainly not.

Most biographies of her make Mary someone feeble, frivolous and unserious. Although they were all studious and based on fact, it felt to me as if something was missing. Enter this biography which manages so much better to show her life from Mary's perspective. It gives you insight into the world that moulded her. Rather than simply dismissing her choices out of hand, it shows you why she made them.

Approaching Mary through her use of textiles and embroidery was an inspired choice. The world of dresses, tapestries and various embroideries is often seen by historians as something frivolous and therefore not necessary to understand in serious study. That's nonsense of a particularly old-fashioned, sexist, type and I'm glad historians like Clare Hunter put them back in the centre of the history of power and royalty and in the history of Mary's personal expression.

All in all, this is a lovely and insightful book and I'm looking forward to reading Clare Hunter's first book Threads of Life soon.

[Farah Mendlesohn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audio: fantastic reading by Siobhan Redmond.

Really superb book that interweaved information about embroidery, textiles, the history of Scotland and of needlework and of course Mary, Queen of Scots, brilliantly. I ended up with many favourite bits (I loved the discussion of the royal brides, especially Sarah Fergusson whose dress I loved). The major strength of the book is the argument which is about the value of textiles in women's power and communication.

The only thing I didn't like was the pro-Catholic bias. I don't mean that Hunter was sympathetic to Mary (I think she found herself as irritated as we all do) but the wholesale dismissal of Protestant morality and aesthetics. A little effort there would have been helpful.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a bit more of a biography of Mary than I wanted it to be. It was of course most interesting when Hunter focused on the role of textiles and needlework in the court cultures where Mary spent her life, and less so when pages of exposition were necessary to move the biographical business along through a story I already knew pretty well. The thing that for some reason struck me here, despite having read about Mary since I was a teenager, was how young she was. She was in her late 20s when she fled Scotland for ultimate captivity in England, and was never again a free woman.
The pictures in the Kindle version were frustrating and I need to look at them on another device to see them properly.

[Morag Forbes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this read. For context Mary Queen of Scots is one of my least favourite Scottish historical characters. In my view she gets way too much attention and her impact on history was pretty limited. But I want to learn more about women’s history in Scotland and this book was a lot about more than just Mary.
The structure of the book was a bit muddling in places but it was really interesting. I never really thought about embroidering being a form of communication, just like letter writing. Embroidering gave Mary a way to tell her story and portray her principles despite living much of her life in captivity.
“It is through her embroideries…that we can still hear what Mary had to say more than four centuries later.”

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a niche book. If you are interested in historical costume or historical needlework, I think you'll really like it. This is not a straightforward biography of Mary Queen of Scots, you kind of need to know something about the time period and major players or I think you'll be lost. But if you have general knowledge of the time period, Mary Queen of Scots, Queen Elizabeth, and are interested in needlework, then I think you will definitely find this interesting! It's about how the presentation of dress and needlework was used in the time period and specifically how Mary Queen of Scots used embroidery as her means of recording her life and communicating during her captivity in England.

[CBo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and, as someone who embroiders and sews, found it deeply moving. The most fascinating parts, for me, were about the hidden meaning in Mary's embroidery, and how much was communicated through textiles. So much of 'women's work' is not included in history, and this did a brilliant job of doing so. I loved the section about Bess of Hardwick and Mary, describing how they worked together, sewing. Through Mary's textiles, and Clare Hunter's contextualization and explanation of them, I have learned a great deal about Mary, and have come to admire her courage. (Also, the start of the book felt a bit slow to me and I struggled to get through it, but was won over!)

[Natalie Quast · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5, but rounding up because this was clearly a passion project for the author. Oh my gosh I am so SO happy to be done with this book! It was tough to get through. Although I did learn a lot about this Catholic queen, calling this book one about her embroidery is a stretch. The author touches on textiles a bit, especially in the summary at the end, but it’s mostly about Mary’s dramatic life. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it flowed a little better and didn’t have some awkward interjections about the author’s own life. But again, this was clearly a personal project to her! To each their own!

[Danielle Alba · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a more humanistic biography of Mary’s life. Actually only a portion is about her actual embroidery - particularly what was done while she was in confinement in England. The rest is a beautiful description of the textiles of importance as you go through her life.

I’ve read, watched, heard the story of the Stuarts and Tudors so many times that I’ve become bored of it, but this was really a different angle. It was more humanistic. Lots of discussion of symbolism.

I listened to the audiobook which I enjoyed. I plan on listening to the author’s first book next.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptional piece of work. I appreciated Mary's story in ways I had not imagined and the research in the book sent me down many rabbit holes of exploration .. all well worth pursuing.

This is full of the fabric and thread of life .. told so very well and with a careful eye on balance. Clare Hunter is undoubtedly a talented thread wielder and story teller.

The book has many of the words from Mary .. but these two stood out:

'In my end is my beginning'
'Look to your consciences and remember that the theatre of the world is larger than the realm of England.'

[nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 / 5 stars

I really enjoyed reading this history of cloth, of needlework of fabric artistry and meaning and intertwined with Mary’s story it made for a very vivid portrayal of such an intricate piece of material history.

Some interpretations, in my eyes, were a little bit too presumptive of Mary’a potential intentions but the author interweaving her own personal discovery of Mary’s embroidery pieces into the account made for a very interesting memoir-ish type of reading at times that softened the presumptions and transformed them into subjective and personal observations.

[Adeptus Fringilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is really a book about Mary Queen of Scots with lots of textile details mixed in. There are an astonishing amount of details about her life which I never read in any of the other books that I read about Mary. Sometimes there is a little lack of narrative, to be expected from a history book I guess and I can't help feeling a bit more positive about Mary. But we might never really find out if she was good or bad.

[MaryEllen Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book by the wonderful Clare Hunter. I have read many biographies and historical fiction of the royal women of this period, and this was by far the best (I am biased being a needlewoman myself). Fascinating portrayal of a tragic life, illuminated by factual information about textiles and needlework of the period and how they displayed power both overtly and subtly. A great lens with which to compassionately view and get a glimpse of understanding of Mary Queen of Scots.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely book telling the story of the life Mary of Mary Queen of Scots, through textiles. It is not only about the tapestries and embroideries she produced herself, whilst in captivity, but also about the significance and hidden meanings of the motifs she embroidered and the clothes she and others wore and also about textiles for other purposes such as political banners and church cloths. This was perfect for anyone interested both in history and also who has a love and interest in textiles.

[Ruby Rusling-Sibley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating, insightful, nuanced and sometimes heartbreaking analysis of someone that the world seems to think we know so much about.

Clare Hunter explores the story of Mary Stuart, and so many voiceless women in general, in such a captivating and enthralling way. I couldn't put it down, and I got teary several times. When I finished it I couldn't stop raving about it and made my friend read it just so I had someone to talk about it with!

[Paige3457# · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and the historical context that it gave me surrounding the period and Mary herself. Textile history is such a passion of mine, and I absolutely adored Hunter’s weaving of past, present, and future impacts of textile design upon society through her vignettes as well. Such a thoroughly researched and thoughtful read— thank you!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A genuinely interesting look at a part of Tudor history I hadn’t explored! I have a much deeper appreciation of how multifaceted Tudor “politics” was and how it drew on and relied upon elements we don’t consider as significant today. Was really interested in the role of gifting as a political act! Will definitely try to incorporate some of this into my teaching

[Doris · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was an excellent book very historical. It’s the account of Mary Queen of Scots through textiles and embroidery. A very unique look at history. I learned a lot about needle work and how it fit in to the world of women and meet 16th century.
Don’t plan to read this book in one sitting. I had to read it a chapter at a time because it has so much to take in.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoy histories/biographies, this well-put-together book ties the Queen of Scots with the textiles of her times. The author also gives us a glimpse into her own travels on this journey, and shows how the past walks hand in hand with the present, into the future.

[Barbara Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this detailed and engaging book for its unusual angle - the life of Mary, Queen of Scots through the lens of the textiles associated with her. Personal anecdotes are interspersed and add to the accessibility of this text.

[Iona · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's a very intriguing and enjoyable read w/ such a vivid variety of reference points- bringing it right up to date with discussions of her portrayal in RPDR
I am biased but I wanted a bit more conversation about the materials and textiles instead of a biography sometimes evidenced in textiles