Queen Elizabeth's Daughter: A Novel of Elizabeth I
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Mary married Sir John Scudamore (also spelled Skydemore, Skydmor, Skidmore, and other ways) without the queen’s permission. Sir John was a widower with five small children. He was also a Catholic from an old church family in Herefordshire, where the family estate, Holme Lacy, still stands (only portions of the original remain, as the house has been destroyed and rebuilt several times). The queen did, indeed, break Mary’s finger in a fit of anger over the marriage. Mary, Queen of Scots, mentions the event in one of her letters and says Elizabeth tried to pass off the incident as the result of a falling candlestick. The information about Mary’s unfortunate “accident” most likely came to Mary, Queen of Scots, from Bess of Hardwick, who was her “keeper” for a while. The episode is corroborated by Eleanor Brydges, one of the queen’s ladies-in-waiting.
The queen did eventually forgive Mary’s indiscretion, making Sir John one of her Gentlemen Pensioners. However, she continued to demand Mary’s presence as one of her sleeping companions as well as one of her ladies-in-waiting. She did not allow her ladies to leave her side very often, and Mary was no exception. Mary and John had no children. My own bloodline comes down through Mary’s older brother, Ralph.
In the early months of 1603, Mary was allowed to go to Holme Lacy to die. However, when the queen passed away in March, Mary also attended the funeral. Mary followed the queen to the great beyond on August 15, 1603.
ALSO BY ANNE CLINARD BARNHILL
At the Mercy of the Queen: A Novel of Anne Boleyn
Coal, Baby (poetry chapbook)
What You Long For (stories)
At Home in the Land of Oz: Autism, My Sister, and Me (memoir)
About the Author
ANNE CLINARD BARNHILL has published short stories, poetry, a memoir, and hundreds of articles and book reviews over the past twenty years. Her first novel, At the Mercy of the Queen, was recently published to wide acclaim. She has taught writing in a variety of venues and has been a keynote speaker for numerous events. She lives in North Carolina with her husband.
www.anneclinardbarnhill.com
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
QUEEN ELIZABETH’S DAUGHTER. Copyright © 2014 by Anne Clinard Barnhill. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover design by Danielle Fiorella
Cover Illustration by Alan Ayers
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Barnhill, Anne Clinard.
Queen Elizabeth's daughter: a novel of Elizabeth I / Anne Clinard Barnhill. —First St. Martin's Griffin Edition.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-250-04379-5 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-312-66212-7 (trade paperback)
ISBN 978-1-4668-4074-4 (e-book)
1. Elizabeth I, Queen of England, 1533-1603—Fiction. 2. Queens—Great Britain—Fiction. 3. Great Britain—History—Elizabeth, 1558-1603—Fiction. 4. Great Britain—Court and courtiers—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3602.A77713Q44 2014
813'.6—dc23
2013032096
e-ISBN 9781466840744
First Edition: March 2014