Headless Queen - (Complete Translation)

Author: Stefan Zweig
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-02-01
Features: "World Classics Treasury? Complete Translation: The Headless Queen"
Editor's Recommendation: A historical question often possesses an inexhaustible mysterious charm, and the life tragedy of Maria Stuart is a typical and outstanding example. In world history, perhaps no woman has appeared in as many literary works—plays, novels, biographies, and essays—as she has. For over three hundred years, she has repeatedly attracted writers to depict her, compelled scholars to study her, and her image has continued to exert the same force as ever in urging us to create anew. In this trial work presented to you, you will see that the author strictly adheres to a principle: never to adopt any testimony obtained through torture, intimidation, or coercion, for a person truly seeking truth would never consider forced confessions to be credible. Similarly, regarding the reports of spies and envoys, the author only occasionally uses them after extremely careful selection and maintains a skeptical attitude toward every document. This book tells the story of Maria Stuart, the Queen of Scotland during the 16th-century Reformation, whose life was marked by dramatic rises and falls. She once enjoyed glory as the Queen of France. After her widowhood, she returned to Scotland and became entangled in terrible emotional entanglements. Later, as a Catholic, Maria was suspected of involvement in the murder of her husband and faced opposition from Scottish nobles, who demanded her punishment. Maria had family ties to the British Queen and fled to England seeking refuge. However, there was also a conflict between Catholics and Protestants within England. The Catholic faction attempted to overthrow the Protestant Queen Elizabeth and place Maria on the throne. To prevent Maria from seizing power, Elizabeth ordered her imprisonment and sentenced her to death. Maria Stuart became the first emperor in European history to meet her end on the guillotine.