‘History will judge us right’

Chapter 1 provides a biographical sketch of the woman at the centre of this book. Starting with her childhood, it charts Mary’s domestic life. We are introduced to Mary as daughter, wife, mother, and widow. It pieces together the little we know about Mary’s childhood, considering the political and social experiences that shaped her early years. It explores Mary’s two marriages: the first to a man thirty-three years her senior, James Cecil, second Marquess of Salisbury, and the second to Edward Stanley, fifteenth Earl of Derby. It considers her experiences of motherhood and widowhood, and what her domestic family life was like. Finally, it explores contemporary impressions of Mary, which reveal much about her personality and interests.