Friedrich Schiller’s Maria Stuart is one of the most perfectly and tightly structured plays in the Western canon, and Lady Antonia Fraser’s Mary, Queen of Scots has been called a masterpiece of historical biography. Using those two texts, we will discuss the advantages and the limitations of both genres as we explore the personal fate of a major historical figure in the setting and complexities of her time. Fraught political as well as moral questions are posed by the dramatic end of Mary’s life, both for her and her main adversary, Elizabeth I. of England.

Any recent English translation of the Schiller text will do (e.g., Penguin). The Fraser text is available in low-priced used copies online.