The Bohemian Queen

"A joy to read. In George Heriot...Findlay has found an everyman through whom we all get Access to the weird world of royalty. Her novel captures the domestic wit and warmth, alongside the casual brutality of of the court of James VI of Scotland and I of England. Beautifully pitched between the homeliness and the haughtiness of the Shakespearean era - and often very funny." - Sarah Fraser, historian of Scotland

Jean Findlay brings her skills as a playwright to her second novel, The Bohemian Queen. The novel, which focuses on the life of Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of James I and VI, is split into the three acts of her adult life: in Heidelberg after marrying Frederick V of the Palatinate; in Prague once they have been crowned King and Queen of Bohemia; and in the Hague, where she lived in exile after their doomed reign ignited the catastrophic Thirty Years War across central Europe. Findlay builds a portrait of a woman shaped by her status, education, her father’s influence, and the political circumstances of the time in a series of scenes, each characterised by lyrical, sensuous writing, and an exploration of principles. Her Elizabeth changes from a naïve, spoiled and proud newlywed to a worldly-wise yet determined matriarch as she ponders everything from beauty, love, health, duty and ambition to doubt, religious tolerance, constancy, diplomacy and a woman’s power. Though the novel is set in the 17th century, Elizabeth’s philosophising feels relevant to the challenges of our present day and allows space for contradiction and complexity without judgment.

-- Vikki Reilly * The Scotsman Arts and Cultu