Daughters of the North

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An utterly absorbing, gratifyingly dogged and impactful investigation

BY JENNIFER MORAG HENDERSON SANDSTONE PRESS £24.99 ★★★★

‘Unlike Mary, Queen of Scots, Jean and the Gordon family never lost touch with what was happening in the north of Scotland.’ A quote that succinctly sums up this utterly absorbing, gratifyingly dogged and impactful investigation of one of the most powerful women in 16th-century Scotland. Due to Mary Stuart’s untimely death, the monarch is one of the most romanticised figures in Scottish history, inspiring works of fiction depicting her life and eventual beheading ordered by her own cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. However, less rendered is Jean Gordon’s story; one filled with much of the turbulence caused by Mary’s actions over her 25-year reign – including Jean’s marriage and later divorce from the Earl of Bothwell at the Queen’s bequest.

This thorough account begins with Jean’s early days and the influence her powerful father, the 4th Earl of Huntly, and the Gordon family had in the North of Scotland, controlling much of the land to their downfall. Despite Queen Mary’s (and her mother, Mary of Guise’s) role in the Gordon family’s misfortunes, we are walked through the complicated history that led Jean and many members of her family (who were among her staunchest supporters) to survive and regain power.

Henderson has expertly captured Jean’s resilience in the face of continuous personal and political upheaval thanks to her powerful family, three marriages and, of course, Mary, Queen of Scots’ ill-fated reign. However, this isn’t only an account of the once Countess of Bothwell and the Gordon family. It’s the story of Scotland at the time, the powers that were shaping it, and the ever-growing shift from Catholicism to Protestantism. Daughters of the North is an essential addition to any individual keen to learn more about this country’s eccentric history along with the extraordinary woman who out-survived her Queen to witness a dramatic transformation.