Arbella

An extraordinary life lost in history: the compelling biography of Arbella Stuart spans both Tudor and Stuart courts, and encompasses espionage, a clandestine marriage, imprisonment and eventual death in the Tower of London.

Arbella Stuart was the niece of Mary Queen of Scots and first cousin to James VI of Scotland. Acknowledged as her heir by Elizabeth I, Arbella’s right to the English throne was equaled only by James. Kept under close supervision by her grandmother, but still surrounded by plots -- most of them Roman Catholic in origin -- she became an important pawn in the struggle for succession, particularly during the long, tense period when Elizabeth I lay dying. Her fate was sealed however when, upon James’s succession and having been invited back to court, Arbella made a treasonous marriage for which she was forced to flee England. She was intercepted off the coast of Calais and escorted to the Tower, where she died some years later, alone and, most probably, from starvation.

For fans of historical biography, Arbella is possibly the most romantic heroine of them all. Hers was a story just waiting to be told.