Daughters of the North

This is the first biography of Jean Gordon, who is best known as the first wife of the notorious Earl of Bothwell. Bothwell divorced Jean in order to marry Mary, Queen of Scots, and Jean and her family were closely involved in all of the major events of Mary’s short and turbulent reign in Scotland. Jean was the youngest daughter of the powerful Earl of Huntly, the ‘King in the North’, and Daughters of the North reframes the history of Scotland during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots by viewing events from Jean’s point of view and from the standpoint of the north of Scotland.

The book reveals the intrigue at the royal court, and relates that Jean’s life was much more rich and complex than supposed. Jean married three times, and her second marriage was to the Earl of Sutherland, making her the Countess of Sutherland – the most powerful woman in the north of Scotland, negotiating between the Earls and the clans and exercising a huge influence over the area. She started a coal mine and salt pan in Brora in the 16th century, an astonishing example of early industrialisation and female agency at a time when the north of Scotland was considered to be wild and lawless; the preserve of violent clansmen.

Jean’s daughter married the Chief of Mackay, and Jean became involved in the complicated life of the clans of the north of Scotland, particularly the Mackays, but also the Clan Gunn. Her Sutherland Gordon family had an ongoing feud with the Sinclair Earls of Caithness, while her wider Huntly Gordon family was involved in the famous Gordon-Moray feud – all events remembered in the songs, stories and sayings of the north and north-east. Meanwhile, Jean followed her heart and was reunited in old age with the love of her life. This painstakingly researched and detailed story gives the reader an eminently readable insight into Jean’s life.