Daughters of the North

A biography following Countess Jean Gordon from the intrigues of the court of Mary, Queen of Scots to the blood feuds and clan battles of the Far North of Scotland.

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Longlisted for the 2022 Highland Book Prize


Mary, Queen of Scots’ marriage to the Earl of Bothwell is notorious. Less known is Bothwell’s first wife, Jean Gordon, who extricated herself from their marriage and survived the intrigue of the Queen’s court.


Daughters of the North reframes this turbulent period in history by focusing on Jean, who became Countess of Sutherland, following her from her birth as the daughter of the ‘King of the North’ to her disastrous union with the notorious Earl of Bothwell – and her lasting legacy to the Earldom of Sutherland.