Cultural depictions of Mary, Queen of Scots

Films

• The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, the first appearance of Mary on film, depicts her beheading. It is one of the first films to utilize an intentional jump cut to create the illusion of a single shot beheading. The effect was so convincing at the time that many viewers believed that the actress was actually killed.
• The Loves of Mary, Queen of Scots, stars Fay Compton.
• Mary of Scotland was directed by John Ford, written by Dudley Nichols. and stars Katharine Hepburn as Mary, Florence Eldridge as Elizabeth I, and Fredric March as Bothwell.
• Das Herz der Königin features Zarah Leander, the Swedish-German actress from the Nazi period as Mary. This UFA production, directed by Carl Froelich, makes use of the historical story for anti-British propaganda in the context of the then ongoing World War II.
• Mary, Queen of Scots, starring Vanessa Redgrave as Mary, Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth, Patrick McGoohan as Moray, Trevor Howard as Cecil, Ian Holm as Rizzio, Timothy Dalton as Darnley, and Nigel Davenport as Bothwell. was written by John Hale, who also wrote a novelization of the film's screenplay. Two events were included that never historically took place: a private outdoor meeting between Elizabeth and Mary when Mary arrives in England and Elizabeth's visiting Mary in prison the night before Mary's execution.
• The Mirror Crack'd, a Miss Marple mystery, is metafiction about Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots; Elizabeth Taylor portrays the actress playing Mary.
• features Samantha Morton as Mary
• Mary Queen of Scots, based on Stefan Zweig's 1935 biography, was directed by Thomas Imbach and stars the bilingual French actress Camille Rutherford.
• Mary Queen of Scots stars Saoirse Ronan as the titular character and Margot Robbie as Elizabeth.

  Literature

Fiction and drama

• Immortal Queen by Elizabeth Byrd
• Mary is the subject of a short story in The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories, Susanna Clarke's collection of fantasy tales.
• La Princesse de Clèves, by Madame de La Fayette, is a novel in which an artistic treatment of Mary, as a young dauphine, features as a major character.
• The Lady of Fire and Tears by Terry Deary, is a children's novel about Mary, Queen of Scots.
• Mary Stuart is a novel by Alexandre Dumas.
• The Queen's Quair is a novel about Mary by Maurice Hewlett.
• Mary features importantly in The Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett.
• Mary Hamilton by Lord Ernest Hamilton is a novel about the titular woman, a lady-in-waiting to Mary. It is based on the traditional ballad, Mary Hamilton.
• Child Royal by D. K. Broster is a novel about Mary's childhood.
• The Memoirs of Mary, Queen of Scots by Carolly Erickson
• In The Princeling, volume 3 of The Morland Dynasty historical novels series by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, the fictional Lettice Morland becomes embroiled in the dramatic events taking place at the court of Mary, Queen of Scots.
• Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles is a novel by Margaret George.
• Shadow Queen is a supernatural novel by Tony Gibbs, featuring Mary as its subject.
• The Other Queen is a novel by Philippa Gregory, featuring Mary as its subject.
• Full Story Inside is a modern novel by Steve Horsfall, featuring Mary as its subject.
• The Gay Galliard: A Novel of Mary Queen of Scots is a novel by Margaret Irwin.
• Mary, Queen of Scots: Queen Without a Country, France, 1553, from the Royal Diaries by Kathryn Lasky, is a children's novel about Mary, Queen of Scots.
• The Wild Queen, by Carolyn Meyer, Mary is a young adult historical novel featuring Mary, Queen of Scots as the main character.
• Court of Shadows, by Cynthia Morgan, is a suspense novel.
• Magdalen Hepburn, by Margaret Oliphant, is set during the Scottish Reformation, and features both Mary and John Knox as characters.
• Flawed Enchantress is a novel by Maureen Peters.
• The Royal Road to Fotheringay and The Captive Queen of Scots is a two-part saga by Jean Plaidy, aka Eleanor Hibbert, featuring Mary as its subject.
• Friedrich Schiller's novel Wallenstein and Mary Stuart and play Maria Stuart feature fictional meetings between Queens Mary and Elizabeth, added for dramatic effect.
• The Abbot by Sir Walter Scott covers the period of Mary's confinement in Loch Leven castle.
• Mary, Queen of Scots, is a young adult novel by Sally Stepanek.
• Fatal Majesty, by Reay Tannahill, is a novel featuring Mary's story.
• The Marchman; Warden of the Queen's March; The Queen's Grace is an historical novel by Nigel Tranter.
• A Traveller in Time, by Alison Uttley, is a children's book about a young girl who finds herself in the time of and in the company of Anthony Babington, who is attempting to free Mary and overthrow Elizabeth.
• In ‘‘The Queen’s Consort’’ by Steven Veerapen, Mary is the main character and her second husband, Lord Darnley, is the protagonist.
• Queen's Own Fool: A Novel of Mary Queen of Scots by Jane Yolen and Robert J. Harris is a children's novel about Mary, Queen of Scots and her jester Nichola.

  Historical biography and analysis

• Maria Stuart by Stefan Zweig,
• Mary Queen of Scots by Retha Warnicke,
• Queen of Scots by Rosalind K. Marshall,
• Mary Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser,
• "Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Babington conspiracy", by David Alan Johnson, Military Heritage, August 2005, no. 1, Volume 7, ISSN 1524-8666
• "Mary Queen of Scots and the French Connection", History Today, 54, 7, pp. 37–43, by Alexander Wilkinson
• Elizabeth and Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens by Jane Dunn,.
• Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart by John Guy,
• Mary Queen of Scots and French Public Opinion, 1542–1600 by Alexander Wilkinson,
• Mary Queen of Scots: A Study in Failure by Jenny Wormald,
• Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Murder of Lord Darnley by Alison Weir,
• The Kings & Queens of Scotland by Richard Oram,

  Photography and art books

• Singer Tori Amos portrayed Mary Queen of Scots for a photo shoot in late makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin's book Face Forward.

  Poetry

• In Nobel laureate Joseph Brodsky's 20 sonnets to Mary Stuart the poet addresses her as an interlocutor.
• The Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote a poem Lament of Mary Queen of Scots, on the Approach of Spring upon Mary's feelings while in her captivity in England, towards her cousin Elizabeth I of England and foreboding of her approaching death.
• The Spanish poet Lope de Vega wrote an epic poem upon Mary Stuart's life and death: Corona trágica, published in 1628.
• Shortly after Mary Stuart's execution in 1587, the English Jesuit poet Robert Southwell composed an emblem poem portraying Mary as a Catholic martyr. The poem was never published in the early modern period; even owning a manuscript version of the poem was "inevitable flirtation with treason" in Elizabethan England.
• The 1596 edition of Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene includes an allegorical representation of the trial of Mary Stuart. Mary Stuart is represented by Duessa and Elizabeth is figured by Mercilla. The allegory dwells on Elizabeth's reluctance to condemn Mary. Elizabeth's delay of three months before agreeing to have Mary executed is represented by a gap of three stanzas at the end of Canto ix. Mercilla's judgment and Duessa's execution do not actually occur until the beginning of the next Canto.

  Music

• John Barry, composer of the soundtrack to the 1971 film, wrote two songs, "Wish Now Was Then" and "This Way Mary" with lyricist Don Black based on themes from the film. They were performed by Matt Monro, with the latter song covered by Scott Walker and Johnny Mathis amongst others.
• The American progressive metal band Dream Theater uses a variation of the mark of Mary, Queen of Scots, as their trademark "Majesty" symbol.
• The song "Fotheringay" by Fairport Convention featured on the 1969 album What We Did on Our Holidays and is an interpretation of the story of Mary's last days in the prison of Fotheringhay Castle. After leaving Fairport Convention, Denny formed a folk rock band named Fotheringay, which released an eponymous debut album Fotheringay in 1970, the cover of which depicted an illustration of the band, including Sandy Denny dressed in Elizabethan costume.
• The song "The Ballad of Mary " by Grave Digger is about her time in prison.
• The song "My Blood Will Live Forever" by Grave Digger is about her time before the execution.
• Data Regina, a multimedia suite by composer Olivia Louvel, featuring violinist Fiona Brice and mastered by Antye Greie, digs deep into the psychic warfare between two 16th century British Queens. Drawn to the life and writings of Mary Queen of Scots, a poet and essayist herself and one of the most read woman of her time, Data Regina is a body of work which gathers electronic songs, "The Antechamber", along with a series of instrumentals, "The Battles", a sonic landscape inspired by the 16th century battles on the Anglo-Scottish border.
• The song "To France" by Mike Oldfield, featured in the 1984 album Discovery, references Mary in its chorus.
• The song "Sad Song" by Lou Reed, featured in the 1973 album Berlin, references Mary in its initial verses. The song was also recorded as a demo by Reed's band The Velvet Underground with different lyrics based on five poems from the collection "Rose und Distel" by Gisbert Vincke. This cycle was among the final works that Schumann composed before he went insane.
• Richard Wagner composed a song "Adieux de Marie Stuart" based on a poem by Pierre Jean Béranger.

  Opera

• Luigi Carlini – Maria Stuarda, regina di Scozia
• Pietro Casella – Maria Stuarda
• Carlo Coccia – Maria Stuart, regina di Scozia
• Gaetano Donizetti – Maria Stuarda
• François-Joseph Fétis – Marie Stuart en Ecosse
• Saverio Mercadante – Maria Stuarda, regina di Scozia
• Louis Niedermeyer – Marie Stuart, Paris
• – Maria Stuarda ossia I carbonari di Scozia

• Mary Carr Moore - David Rizzio
• Thea Musgrave - Mary, Queen of Scots
• Bain Murray - ‘’Mary Stuart, A Queen Betrayed’’

  Radio

• Joan Crawford played Mary in the March 10, 1937 Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of the film Mary of Scotland, with Franchot Tone as Bothwell and Judith Anderson as Elizabeth.
• Episode 14 of the Australian radio series Famous Escapes is "Mary Queen of Scots Escapes from Prison" ; the actress who played Mary is not currently known.
• Another version of the Mary of Scotland play was broadcast on the Theatre Guild on the Air on April 28, 1946, starring Helen Hayes as Mary and Helen Menken as Elizabeth.
• On June 10, 1947, the radio series Favorite Story broadcast "Mary Queen of Scots", the "favorite story" of Bing Crosby, with Edna Best as Mary and Benita Hume as Elizabeth.
• The CBS Radio series You Are There broadcast "The Execution of Mary Queen of Scots" on June 27th 1947, June 27th 1948 and April 3rd 1949.
• Meg Fraser played Mary twice in BBC Radio 3 productions, first in 2010 in Jo Clifford's adaptation of Madame de La Fayette's novel La Princesse de Cleves and then in 2012 in David Harrower's adaptation of Friedrich Schiller's play Mary Stuart.
• A radio adaptation of Liz Lochhead's play Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 11 February 2011, with Gerda Stevenson as Mary and Myra McFadyen as Corbie.
• Jeany Spark played Mary in Episode One, "It Came In with a Lass", of the first series of Mike Walker's BBC Radio 4's The Stuarts.
• On 8 December 2018, BBC Radio 4 broadcast as part of their Unmade Movies series Alexander MacKendrick's Mary Queen of Scots, adapted from the original screenplay by Alexander MacKendrick and Jay Presson Allen, with Ellie Bamber as Mary and Glenda Jackson as The Narrator.

  Television

• In the Channel 4 television miniseries, Elizabeth I, the first two-hour segment partly centers around the conflict between Elizabeth and Mary, whose execution is graphically shown in a manner that is reportedly true to history.
• In the Channel 5 television docudrama series Elizabeth I, Mary is portrayed by Audrey L'Ebrellec.
• The BBC-TV mini-series Elizabeth R, episode 4: "Horrible Conspiracies", written by Hugh Whitemore, is a generally historically accurate portrayal of Mary during her captivity in England, from her imprisonment at Chartley under the guardianship of Sir Amyas Paulet through to her trial and execution, using many of Mary's own reported words as dialogue. It includes an accurate portrayal of her execution including her use of a red petticoat, her positioning of her head with her hands on the block, and the two blows and sawing motion it took to remove her head. It also shows the executioner unwittingly grasping and pulling away her wig to reveal her grey hair.
• The BBC television miniseries Gunpowder, Treason & Plot dramatizes the reigns of Scottish monarchs Mary, Queen of Scots and her son King James VI of Scotland, who became King James I of England and foiled the Gunpowder Plot.
• In the CBBC sketch show Horrible Histories, Mary is portrayed by Martha Howe-Douglas and Jessica Ransom.
• An episode of the British series Lovejoy finds the main character seeking information and the whereabouts of Mary's pool table.
• Monty Python's Flying Circus episode 22 features a skit involving the first two episodes of "a new radio drama series: The Death of Mary Queen of Scots".
• Lesley Smith, the curator of Tutbury Castle, portrayed Mary Queen of Scots for Living's Most Haunted in 2002 for a dramatic monologue of her time imprisoned there. Smith continues these re-enactments in the castle.
• Reign is a highly fictionalized period drama television show on The CW Television Network that follows the life of 15-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots, at French court beginning in 1557, while she awaits her marriage to Francis II of France. At court, Mary has to contend with the changing politics and power plays. Francis' mother, Queen Catherine de' Medici, is secretly trying to prevent the marriage due to the advice of Nostradamus, who had a vision that the wedding will lead to Francis' death. The series also follows the affairs of Mary's four Scottish handmaidens Lola, Kenna, Greer and Aylee, who are searching for husbands of their own at court. Mary is portrayed by Australian actress Adelaide Kane. The series began airing on October 13, 2013.
• A 1957 episode of the Wonderful World of Disney titled, "The Truth About Mother Goose", discussed the origins of three nursery rhymes. Series host Walt Disney attributed the Mary Mary Quite Contrary rhyme to the life of Mary Stuart. This episode featured a brief animated short about Mary's life, done in the artistic style of Sleeping Beauty. The short touched on important moments in Mary's life, even ending with a scene of Mary being marched to her beheading.
• In an episode of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Mary is referenced when two fictional knights were said to have served her.

  Theatre

18th and 19th centuries

• Maria Stuarda, an historical play by Count Vittorio Alfieri
• Mary, Queen of Scots; An Historical Tragedy, Or, Dramatic Poem by Mary Deverell
• Mary Stuart by Alexandre Dumas
• Il Trionfo dei Carbonari by Camillo Federici, the pseudonym of Giovanni Battista Viassolo. It was published in Padua.
• Marie Tudor by Victor Hugo.
• Maria Stuart is an influential play by Friedrich Schiller which was the basis for Donizetti's opera and other works. It was most recently produced in London's West End in 2005, starring Janet McTeer and Harriet Walter. Both actresses repeated their performances on Broadway in 2009 and were nominated for a Tony Award; that production was directed by Phyllida Lloyd, who also received a nomination for her work.
• Edoardo Stuart in Scozia by August von Kotzebue.
• Matilde ossia i Carbonari presented the unhappy queen with a fictitious daughter
• I carbonari di Dombar

  20th and 21st centuries

• Mary of Scotland by Maxwell Anderson was a Broadway success in 1933.
• British playwright John Drinkwater wrote the one-act play Mary Stuart, produced on Broadway in 1921.
• Maxwell Anderson's play Mary of Scotland was produced on Broadway in 1933, starring Helen Hayes.
• The Scottish playwright Robert McLellan depicted the events of Mary's downfall, focussing on the months between March 1566 and June 1567, in his five-act play Mary Stewart, first produced in Glasgow by the Citizens Theatre.
• Sarah Miles portrayed Mary Queen of Scots on Broadway and the West End in the play Vivat! Vivat Regina! written by her husband Robert Bolt
• Martha Graham choreographed and directed the modern dance titled "Episodes" that premiered at Lincoln Center, New York, the dance featured Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I resolving their dynastic issues over a game of tennis.
• The Scottish playwright Liz Lochhead explored the relationship between Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart in her play Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off.
• Mary's imprisonment and trial are the subject of the play The Lifeblood by poet Glyn Maxwell.
• Maria Stuart – Königin der Schotten
• The events of Mary's execution are referenced in playwright Peter Shaffer's play Lettice and Lovage.