Julianne Lee has had exciting jobs in her life. She currently is an author, but has also been an actress, written video sleeve copy, and has worked in newspaper and magazine writing. Her careers have definitely been fascinating, fun, and most importantly creative. All that creativity led to Lee having written two of the more unique historical fiction novels in the genre.
Lee's creativity started at an early age and continued on in her life with her having spent time as an art major, attending school at the American Academy in California, appearing in the feature film "At Close Range" starring Christopher Walken and Sean Penn, appearing in a TV movie starring Ann-Margaret, writing for the local newspaper, writing actor interviews for Starlog Magazine, writing video sleeve copy for Fox Home Video, and most importantly becoming a successful author. Creative is the best way to describe Lee as an author and as a person.
Lee's two novels in the historical fiction genre have shown that creativity. "A Question of Guilt: A Novel of Mary, Queen of Scots and the Death of Henry Darnley" the first historical fiction novel by Lee is about the question of whether or not Mary, Queen of Scots was responsible for the death of her second husband, Henry Darnley. The novel is seen through the eyes of an innocent bystander and makes for a fascinating tale of mystery and intrigue. Lee's following novel was "Her Mother's Daughter: A Novel of Queen Mary Tudor" which takes a look at the tragic life of Queen Mary I of England, the daughter of King Henry VIII, half-sister to Queen Elizabeth I, and known as "Bloody Mary" throughout history. Lee presents a unique introduction to the novel that is rare in historical fiction.
Lee also has written other novels including the Matheson Saga and the Tenebrae Series which both include a number of different books. Lee is married, has two children, and resides in Tennessee.
Your first historical fiction novel, "A Question of Guilt: A Novel of Mary, Queen of Scots and the death of Henry Darnley" is the story of a fictional character named Janet de Ros who believes that the recently executed Queen of Scots was an innocent bystander in the death of her 2nd husband, Henry Darnley and sets out to prove that. How did you come up with this unique take on the story of Mary, Queen of Scots?
Lee: Well, I think rather that Janet began by wondering whether Mary deserved the accusation of murder. Setting out to prove that the queen's judgment was unjust would not have been a very good idea. But Janet's curiosity, though entirely academic, led her to seek the truth, whatever the truth may have been.
The idea for the approach I took on this story came from a short story called "A Jury of Her Peers" by Susan Glaspell. In that story, a man in a small farming community is murdered, and while the menfolk look over the crime scene, their wives come to their own conclusion about who did the murder. They are completely ignored by their husbands, and in the end keep their findings to themselves. I love that story because it shows gender dynamics in an interesting way. In "A Question of Guilt" I wanted to show what Mary--and to a lesser extent Janet--was up against as in intelligent woman in that time and place. Mary was not a successful queen, and certainly did plot against Elizabeth. But her involvement in Darnley's murder is very much open to question.
What inspired you to write about Mary, Queen of Scots? How did your interest in her come about?
Lee: I've written a number of books set in historical Scotland, and am fascinated by the culture since my grandmother was a Ross. About eight books into my career, my editor at Berkley expressed a desire to see something about Mary Stuart. I was happy to oblige.
Do you personally believe Mary, Queen of Scots was responsible for Henry Darnley's death or was an innocent bystander?
Lee: My personal take on Mary is pretty much laid out in the book. Janet's conclusion is also my conclusion. I think Mary had little wiggle room on many things, and was surrounded by men who were accustomed to ignoring the opinions of women. Raised in the French court to be the consort of a French king, she was ill-equipped to control such aggressive men as her mother had, and was vulnerable to the agenda of her illegitimate half brother, who felt he should have had the throne. In the murder plot I believe she gave her tacit approval to the general concept of getting rid of Darnley, and probably thought it best for the stability of the country. His behavior invited international incident, and the doubt Darnley cast on the paternity of Mary's son destabilized the succession. There was a high risk of war. She agreed with the conspirators that Darnley needed killing, but probably never knew any of the details. Firstly she was too squeamish to want to be involved, secondly it was in her best interests to preserve plausible deniability, and thirdly as a woman she would not have been thought competent to contribute to the plan. That's not to say she wasn't smart enough to help, but the men involved would have thought she wasn't. (That's also not to suggest the plan was all that brilliant, either.)
Let me qualify these statements by adding that they are somewhat generalized impressions based on my reading, and not everyone is going to agree with me on this. But every reader of history has a perspective, and that is mine.
Your next novel, "Her Mother's Daughter: A Novel of Queen Mary Tudor" is the story of the life of Queen Mary I, daughter of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, half-sister to Queen Elizabeth I, and often known throughout history as "Bloody Mary". What inspired you to write a novel about her?
Lee: In my research for a book I wrote under the pseudonym Laurien Gardner, titled "Spanish Bride: A Novel of Catherine of Aragon," it struck me that I could relate rather closely to Mary Tudor on a personal level. Parents divorced when she was eleven, unstable environment, emotionally abandoned by a father she idolized--I felt I understood things about her that most historians ignored. I also feel there are a great many people these days who might relate as I did. I'd seen all those movies that depicted Mary as ugly, mean and crazy, and knew the truth couldn't be that extreme. To be sure, Mary was quite neurotic, but so would anyone be under those circumstances. Elizabeth, for instance, spent her entire life wound tighter than a cheap watch. I wanted to write about Queen Mary Tudor because I thought I might have some insight on what made her tick. Getting into the heads of historical figures is what makes this work interesting to me.
Your introduction to "Her Mother's Daughter" is very unique focusing on a girls slumber party and the tale of Queen Mary I. It was definitely a different introduction to a historical fiction novel than most readers are used to. How did you come up with such a fresh and interesting introduction?
Lee: ::chuckle:: Some have said "bizarre." To me the slumber party was a simple framing device. Its purpose was to put Mary's story in historical perspective and to lay it against the reputation she's had over the past five centuries. I knew when I wrote it I was taking a risk, since the paranormal aspect isn't usually found in straight historical fiction. But I wanted to introduce the Bloody Mary children's legend, and thought the style risk was worth taking. Most readers either love it or hate it. Some tell me "Her Mother's Daughter" is the best I've ever written.
Queen Mary had a very difficult life. What do you believe were some of the most difficult aspects of Mary's life?
Lee: Well, as I mentioned, I view some of Mary's experiences from the perspective of one who has been there. However, I've never lived in a palace and have never been threatened with imprisonment or beheading. It must have been a nightmare for Mary to live most of her life not knowing whether the guard would come to take her away. Or whether she might be poisoned at the behest of her father or stepmother. But I think the worst of it would be the betrayal by of her father. When a parent turns like that, it hurts on a level that shakes the foundations of one's soul.
One thing that struck me was the parallel between the relationships with her father and with her husband, Philip. In each case she began in love, and in each case she was betrayed and discovered her love had never been requited. In my research I was surprised by the two incidents, years apart, in which Henry and Philip each made a dramatic goodbye with a wave of a cap. They say that all girls marry their father; perhaps that happened to Mary.
The bond between Mary and her mother, Catherine of Aragon is particularly highlighted throughout the novel. How would you describe the relationship between Mary and her mother?
Lee: Catherine was undoubtedly Mary's main role model, if you will excuse another moment of pop psychology. Catherine raised Mary with the idea that if there were no sons Mary would rule England as Catherine's mother had ruled Castile. Catherine was entirely devoted to her religion, and fought to her death to maintain her reputation as an honorable woman. She never flagged in her support of Mary throughout the conflict with Henry and Anne. Mary did the same in return, devoting her life to clinging to her honor and religion as her mother had. They were united in their ill-treatment by Henry, and he used that union to punish Catherine when she angered him. Plainly Mary identified very strongly with her mother, and sought to emulate her.
Mary was not a very popular English monarch for many reasons, but the beginning of her reign seemed promising. What do you believe where strengths and flaws to Mary's reign as Queen of England?
Lee: Ah, that's a question for an entire college term paper! Okay, let's see...
One strength of Mary was that she was Henry's daughter. Say what you might about Henry, he was a strong ruler. Mary was smart, but also as ruthless as he. Like her mother, she took the trouble to learn the business of governing, and surrounded herself with people she recognized as competent though some had opposed her in the past. She didn't depend on the men around her to know what was what just because they were men.
She had a good mentor in her cousin, Emperor Charles V. Even though he always had his own agenda, he was an emotional support who probably helped her through some of the rougher patches.
On the downside, she was a woman in a time when women were routinely ignored and disparaged. She had the same credibility problems as Mary Stuart, being the first female sovereign in her kingdom. In addition, her health was never good and she suffered the same nervousness as her sister. She was deeply neurotic, and must have been often frustrating for the people around her.
Do you have any other novels planned for the future?
Lee: There is a novel in the works about Jane Grey, though it's not yet scheduled for publication. This story focuses on Jane's plight as a fifteen-year-old being used by her father in an ill-thought-out and deeply selfish power grab. I think Jane's father makes Henry look like Prince Charming. Beyond that, I'm considering a book about a wandering minstrel from Henry's court, who has fled to the Borderlands after the execution of Mark Smeaton and the others who were accused of complicity with Anne Boleyn.
What other areas of history and times periods would you like to write about in future novels?
Lee: So far I've written about the Jacobite Rebellions of early eighteenth century Scotland, and the Scottish Wars of Independence. "Her Mother's Daughter" is my third Tudor historical, but I don't think I've plundered the period. Once I have, though, I wouldn't mind revisiting the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries, or perhaps look in on Eleanor of Aquitaine or Benjamin Disraeli. Always Britain. Always.
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