Mary, Queen of Scots, with Jade Scott

Mary, Queen of Scots, with Jade Scott

Imprisoned for nearly 20 years by her cousin Queen Elizabeth I, Mary, Queen of Scots, fought her battles through words, sending and receiving coded letters hidden in books, garments, and even beer barrels. Historian Jade Scott, of the University of Glasgow, Scotland, has uncovered the human and political depths behind Mary’s captivity through 57 recently decrypted letters, coded missives that reveal her as a strategist, an adept diplomat, and a woman navigating the perilous politics of Elizabethan England. In her new book, Captive Queen: The Decrypted History of Mary, Queen of Scots, Scott draws on these newly decoded letters to illuminate Mary’s time in captivity, her alliances and betrayals, and the intricate game of espionage that ultimately led to her execution. From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published November 4, 2025. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the executive producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. We had help with web production from Paola García Acuña. Leonor Fernandez edits our transcripts. Final mixing services are provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc. Jade Scott, PhD, is a historian specializing in Mary, Queen of Scots and is an expert on her letters. She is a lecturer in historical linguistics at the University of Glasgow and an associate fellow of the Royal Historical Society, researching early modern Scottish women and their correspondence. Fascinated by Mary since she was a child, Jade was contacted by the DECRYPT Project to consult on the translations of Mary’s newly-decoded letters, which led to the writing of Captive Queen. Jade lives in Glasgow.

Episoder(298)

Stanley Wells on Great Shakespeare Actors

Stanley Wells on Great Shakespeare Actors

For the majority of audience members, Shakespeare is brought to life by the actors and actresses who speak his lines. Shakespeare scholar Stanley Wells considered all of the most outstanding Shakes...

21 Okt 201523min

Music for Shakespeare's Lyrics

Music for Shakespeare's Lyrics

The majority of Shakespeare’s plays call for singing — sometimes it’s part of the action, sometimes it seems to spring out of nowhere. And while the lyrics to the songs appear to have always been a p...

7 Okt 201531min

The Year of Lear

The Year of Lear

1606 was a critical year for Shakespeare’s creative career. It was the year in which he wrote KING LEAR, MACBETH, and ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. It was also a time in which the king of England, James I, fa...

23 Sep 201529min

Editing Shakespeare

Editing Shakespeare

Just what exactly does it mean to edit the works of Shakespeare, particularly since we have no surviving manuscript copies? Why is it that new editions of the plays continue to be published? In this ...

9 Sep 201531min

Shakespeare Not Stirred

Shakespeare Not Stirred

"Shakespeare Not Stirred" is the creation of two English professors who combined their love of the cocktail hour and their love of Shakespeare to write a collection of Bard-inspired cocktail and hors ...

26 Aug 201525min

Great Shakespeareans

Great Shakespeareans

If you were to make a list of the people who have left an enduring imprint on how the world interprets, understands, and receives Shakespeare, who would you choose? About a decade ago, Peter Holland,...

29 Jul 201521min

Shakespeare and The Tabard Inn

Shakespeare and The Tabard Inn

What if Shakespeare and his friends had gotten together and carved their names on the wall of an inn made famous by Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales? The intriguing possibility of such a link between these ...

15 Jul 201519min

Shakespeare in Hong Kong

Shakespeare in Hong Kong

"Last thing he did, dear queen, He kissed—the last of many doubled kisses— This orient pearl. His speech sticks in my heart." ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA (1.5.45-48) Hong Kong, a former British colony, ha...

1 Jul 201524min

Populært innen Premium

papaya
ida-med-hjertet-i-handen
giver-og-gjengen-vg
krimpodden-vg
harm-og-hegseth
tore-og-haralds-podkast
aftenpodden
storefri-med-mikkel-og-herman
podme-krim
avhort
big-5-med-nils-og-harald-2
aftenpodden-usa
konspirasjonspodden
topp-3-med-wold-og-fladseth
tusvik-tnne
fastlegen
ma-pa-behandling-med-morten-ramm
stopp-verden
katastrofe-2
hovla