Hurrah to Nadine Akkerman for her amazing biography of Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia, a major political force during the Thirty Years War. She was the daughter of King James I of England, married to the Elector Palatine, became a monarch of Bohemia, then lived out most of her life as a queenly refugee in Holland, fighting for the restoration of the Palatinate—which eventually did happen in part, if not to her satisfaction, her motto being: ‘plustost morte que changée’ or ‘I rather break than bend.’
I suspect Nadine Akkerman is the world’s foremost expert on all things specifically Elizabeth Stuart. She has spent much of her life’s work in collecting and analyzing Elizabeth Stuart’s existing correspondence, which is mostly political in nature, and I see this focus reflected in Akkerman’s biography. She does include major life events and family stories, mostly reinforcing what I knew already. What this biography particularly did for me, however, was to deepen and broaden my understanding of the political role and situation of Elizabeth Stuart specifically. I learned more about her financial situation as well—and appreciate her being vindicated a bit that way.
Akkerman definitely exhibits this Stuart princess's liveliness, though! She displays countless times that Elizabeth had a certain spunk and force about both her correspondence and her nature. Those of her time compared her to Diana (analogous to the Greek goddess Artemis), the avid huntress. Elizabeth was a phenomenal huntress herself, and she was so charming that she was given the epithet, “Queen of Hearts.” What might not seem so charming to us today, however, was how she addressed some of her English friends, especially—her dear, honest, fat Thom (for Thomas Roe, an ambassador); the ‘ugly, filthie Camel’s face’ James Hay, Viscount Doncaster, and similar seemingly-disparaging descriptors for other men, in particular those that she was in correspondence with. Some of her nicknames were merely cute, such as calling the chaplain William Twisse, ‘Dr. Twyst’. I suspect that such playful, insulting addresses kept fears at bay about inappropriate attachments, as I’m sure her correspondence was scrutinized. But such names weren’t only for the men—she called her own children her 'little black babies' and she referred to one of her ladies-in-waiting as ‘my Dulcinea, the reverend Countess’, which had an ironic sting as it referenced Don Quixote’s love for a peasant girl, whom he only imagines a countess. The countess’s husband had died shortly after their marriage, and the title had significantly elevated her rank; the irony is, though, that Elizabeth clung fiercely to her own title of Queen of Bohemia her entire life, though they were deposed within a year or so of their coronation. As she was an anointed queen, I agree that it was her title to keep, rather like a dowager queen, but it is surprising that she would give her ‘Dulcinea’ such a hard time. Maybe Elizabeth realized this, though, as she had no trouble laughing at herself. One of my favorite lines of the biography was, “What Elizabeth’s court lacked in numbers, however, it more than made up for in attitude.”
I especially appreciated learning about the galling rivalry that developed with Amalia Solms, her erstwhile lady-in-waiting who grew so proud married to a prince of Orange that she deemed her daughter too good even for the Prince of Wales. Granted, he was a bit down on his luck at the time—and after seeing how the queen of Bohemia had remained a refugee for ages, I suppose Amalia had good reason to be hesitant!
I would have liked to learn a bit more about many of Elizabeth’s private relationships, though obviously Nadine Akkerman doesn’t have a crystal ball. I’m especially curious about Lord Craven, who supported Elizabeth Stuart during much of her older age—and there is at least a bit more known about him, if not ‘them’. Likewise, I was hoping to find out more about her friendship with Anne Dudley. Nor does Akkerman even talk much about Scultetus (I think his name came up once, perhaps), whom I’ve understood to be a troublemaking religious figure in her husband’s court. Even when the author discusses Prince Charles’ incognito journey to Spain (to see about his ‘Spanish Match’) at length, she fails to mention that he stopped back in France and met his wife for the first time! I chalk up this omission to the author being intensely centered on Elizabeth’s own political correspondence, wherein lies much of Elizabeth’s historical importance. So with regards to Prince Charles’ incognito journey, Elizabeth was in hot water with her dad for sending an ambassador to ‘stop’ the Spanish match, and THAT was Akkerman’s focus. I am actually so grateful that Akkerman does have this focus. Not only has she put together all of that correspondence—a herculean task—but she even solved ciphers and uncovered invisible ink messages. It’s incredible what she has done, and now she’s distilled it into a single comprehensive biography.
I can’t say enough how delighted I was to read this particular biography about Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia. Long ago I started writing a novel about Elizabeth Stuart, who is supposedly my ancestress, and so while reading Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Hearts, I ended up roughly outlining a whole series! I’m not sure if I will actually write those novels, but if I ever do, they will be more accurate for having learned much about Elizabeth Stuart’s world from Nadine Akkerman.
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