Ungrateful Daughters: The Stuart Princesses Who Stole Their Father's Crown

Rating:
Summary: King Lear in real life.
Review: "Ungrateful Daughters" demonstrates (yet again) the absurdity of the warming pan plot and the legitimacy of James II's son. But the enjoyment in reading about the events of the time is diminished by a confusing narrative which jumps back and forth as well as the persistent theme of blaming everything on Anne.

Both Anne and her sister were raised as Children of State. Their upbringing was directed by Charles II and his ministers with the goal in mind of creating staunch Protestant heirs to the throne. From their earliest childhood they were brought up to disdain the religion of their father and stepmother and with a firm belief in popish plots. That in their adult years, they fulfilled this role shows them to be grateful Daughters of State more than ungrateful daughters to James.

This book is worth reading for it's strong narrative of events surrounding the birth of James' son and its recounting of the events in the revolution itself. However the reader must keep and open mind about some of the conclusions. "Ungrateful Daughters" chronicles the events and aftermath of the Glorious Revolution. The bloodless coup that removed James II from the English throne and installed his Daughter Mary and her husband William as joint monarchs. Maureen Waller, the author, writes not of high politics but rather tells the story of a family split by politics, religion, and perhaps even simple jealousy. While the title references both daughters, it is the younger Anne, who Ms Waller sees that the prime villain of the piece.

Maureen Waller's narrative of events is divided into three sections. In the first third of the book, she provides biographies of each of the main participants in the family drama. This is then followed with a narrative of the events surrounding the revolution itself and King James' escape to France to join up with his wife and infant son. The last third of the book presents the reigns of Mary, William, and the last Stuart, Queen Anne.

In an ironic twist the revolution's direct cause was the one thing all Kings strive for - the birth of a male heir. However, King James II was a Catholic king in a protestant country. While many of his subjects we displeased with the favoritism shown by James in promoting Catholics to high office, they were content to bide their time and await the reign of his daughter. When James announced that his young wife was pregnant, many Protestants began to see this a danger to the reformation and the country. Rumors were spread that the pregnancy was a hoax; that James was planning to foist an unroyal infant on the nation, and that the infant was to be raised a catholic to prevent the monarchy from falling back into protestant hands. To prevent this from happening, Protest nobles invited James' son-in-law, Prince William of Orange, to invade England in order to protect his wife's claim to the crown and to rule England in her name. James' escape to France proved a convenient excuse for Parliament to declare that he had abdicated the Throne and then award it to his heir Mary and her husband.

After the successful invasion, William became preoccupied with cementing his hold on the government and using English resources in his war against Louis XIV of France The relation ship between the Queen and Anne soon deteriorated as they quarreled over Sarah Churchill. After Mary's death from smallpox, Anne and William reconcile outwardly, but animosity remained throughout the rest of William's reign.

Anne's reign began in 1702 following the death of her unpopular brother-in-law. The premature death of Anne's son in 1701 meant that Anne would be the last Stuart monarch. It was a time of great success for Anne as England became the most powerful nation in the world thanks to its successful war against France ended in 1713; it was also a time of great sadness as Anne was to loose many of her former friends and favorites as she grew into the role of queen and attempted to implement her own policies. Anne's death in 1714 was end of the Stuart line. By the act of settlement in 1701 the throne passed to the Elector George Ludwig of Hanover.

Maureen Waller's book might as easily have been called "Ungrateful Anne". The author places much responsibility for the Glorious Revolution on Anne. Her position in the English court gave her greater access to information than her sister possessed. Mary was frustrated at Anne's failure to be at the birth of the Prince James and her inability to provide more accurate and unbiased facts surrounding the birth. It is Anne who always gets the role of bad apple. Anne who kills one younger sibling with an accidental exposure to smallpox. Anne who refuses to give up her court favorites at her sister's request. Anne who sends Mary nasty notes about their stepmother.

Mary is portrayed as devoted to her husband William and interested in making sure that a changling is not allowed to usurp the crown. James II is a doting father and Mary Beatrice is a loving, if naïve, stepmother who can't imagine how Anne or Mary would not be overjoyed at loosing her own place in the succession.

The narrative structure of the first third of the book focuses on each of the participants in turn. This means that a great deal of material is covered repeatedly. To some extent this is useful as each time it is from a different perspective, however it comes off primarily as redundant since the author is advocating for her perspective against Anne in each of these sections.


Rating:
Summary: Excellent read, ill-considered title
Review: A well-written history of the last Catholic king of England, and one of the most inept, and his two daughters.

The title is unfortunate because no royals of that period (or our own?) ever expressed gratitude. Princesses were raised apart from their parents, and in this case Charles II wisely
decided that James' daughters, Mary and Anne, had to be raised
Protestant. As Pepys points out, James was a talented administrator at the Admiralty (and a friend of Pepys) but a stupid, politically incompetent determined Roman Catholic, at a time when the French Catholics were murdering Protestants in the streets. The English nobility felt threatened, and they, together with William of Orange, kicked out James.

The title is also a misnomer in that the princesses did not steal their father's crown; the credit belongs to the English nobility such as the Duke of Marlborough and the gay King William (a fact not mentioned in this story except very obliquely).

Queen Anne, by the way, did have many children but none survived.

Neither Mary nor Anne was an educated or personable Princess or Queen; both were ill-suited for England. It is even more remarkable, therefore, that Maureen Waller makes them interesting, and the asthmatic but determined William of Orange
completely fascinating.

Rating:
Summary: terrific telling of one of the key events and its aftermath
Review: Maureen Waller's contention is that the "Glorious Revolution" of 1688 occurred due to religious differences that came to a head due to royal pregnancy. King James II was a Catholic and his two daughters were Protestant. When James' Catholic wife became pregnant, leading Protestants including James' oldest daughter Mary, married to the King's nephew Prince William of Orange, encouraged her spouse to take the crown from her father. When James II turned to the military to defend him, he found the army and navy deserted him. His other daughter, Anne, a Protestant, supported William and Mary. Ironically, Anne became the last Stuart ruler as neither she nor her sibling had children so the throne passed down the Hanoverian line after her.

UNGRATEFUL DAUGHTERS is a terrific telling of one of the key events and its aftermath (approximately a quarter of a century) in English history. Based on a tremendous assortment of documents, especially secondary sources, readers obtain a close look at the period and why the change occurred in an entertaining manner. Historical fans obtain a close look at James II whose pompousness never enabled him to understand the opposition until he was exiled to France. The book also looks deeply at what motivated his daughters, his replacement as king, and later his exiled son. However, purists need to realize that Maureen Waller juxtaposes modern day values on late seventeenth England, which is difficult to accept because religious choices of that era were much more dramatic and eternally painful than today. Still this is a wonderful biography that British historical buffs will enjoy and learn from.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: terrific telling of one of the key events and its aftermath
Review: Maureen Waller's contention is that the "Glorious Revolution" of 1688 occurred due to religious differences that came to a head due to royal pregnancy. King James II was a Catholic and his two daughters were Protestant. When James' Catholic wife became pregnant, leading Protestants including James' oldest daughter Mary, married to the King's nephew Prince William of Orange, encouraged her spouse to take the crown from her father. When James II turned to the military to defend him, he found the army and navy deserted him. His other daughter, Anne, a Protestant, supported William and Mary. Ironically, Anne became the last Stuart ruler as neither she nor her sibling had children so the throne passed down the Hanoverian line after her.

UNGRATEFUL DAUGHTERS is a terrific telling of one of the key events and its aftermath (approximately a quarter of a century) in English history. Based on a tremendous assortment of documents, especially secondary sources, readers obtain a close look at the period and why the change occurred in an entertaining manner. Historical fans obtain a close look at James II whose pompousness never enabled him to understand the opposition until he was exiled to France. The book also looks deeply at what motivated his daughters, his replacement as king, and later his exiled son. However, purists need to realize that Maureen Waller juxtaposes modern day values on late seventeenth England, which is difficult to accept because religious choices of that era were much more dramatic and eternally painful than today. Still this is a wonderful biography that British historical buffs will enjoy and learn from.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Gripping tale of religion dividing a country and a family
Review: This book is an exciting and entertaining look at the power struggle in Restoration England, and how the divide between Catholics and Protestants caused a King to be dethroned by his own daughters. I really liked Ms. Waller's tone and her storytelling abilities, using the actual letters written between Queen Mary and Princess Anne, making them seem that much more real to us as the reader.

I also like it that you can't really see a bias for or against any certain person or religion...you will read good things and bad things about everyone involved, you'll feel anger and pity for these people and their lives. I was completely engrossed from start to finish.

Rating:
Summary: How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is.
Review: Ungrateful Daughters treats the last days of the house of Stuart as seen through the perspectives of the major characters: James II, Mary of Modena, Mary II, William of Orange, and Queen Anne. It begins essentially with the restoration and ends with the handover of power to the Hanovers.

The material is absorbing and the book was seemingly quite well-researched. However, for me, much of the pleasure was spoiled by Waller's organisation and tone. The narrative is not linear, but shifts with the perspectives of the different players. I found the effect jarring and occasionally confusing. I also heard more than I wanted of Waller's opinions about the people involved (particularly Queen Anne).

It's funny that I'm willing to forgive a history writer like Mitford her harsh asides, but I wasn't willing to forgive Waller. I found her judgements heavy-handed and they made me suspicious of how (and from what perspective) she was telling the story. Too bad-- because it's a really great story.

This shouldn't discourage others from reading the book-- it's still a good use of time and a book that I'm going to keep in my collection.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book!
Review: Waller's book on the human side of the Glorious Revolution is riveting. Few books have managed to show the Stuarts as something other than cardboard figures, but this one is fascinating and well-written to boot.