Join the ABAA Gender Equity Initiative for a brown bag lunch with Dr. Valerie Schutte on April 22nd at 2 pm ET.
Edit: the recording of this event is now available on our YouTube channel...
This presentation will focus on a modern manuscript account of the life of Saint Margaret, Queen of Scotland, that was intentionally created for Princess Mary in 1932. On Saturday, 27 September 1930, Princess Mary visited Queen Margaret’s School in York to lay a foundation stone for a new block of buildings being added to the school. Two years later, on Saturday, 24 September 1932, when Mary was now known as the Princess Royal, she returned to the school to open the new block of buildings, including twelve form rooms, science laboratories, a library, a gymnasium, and an assembly hall. After inspecting the school, Princess Mary presented prizes to the pupils, who gave her this modern manuscript of Queen Margaret in return. This presentation will look at the manuscript and the many women involved in its creation. It was about a queen, written and illustrated by women, and given to a princess.
"Exploring a Modern Manuscript about a Medieval Queen"
Wednesday, April 22, 2026 at 2pm ET
Pre-registration for the talk is encouraged!
Dr. Valerie Schutte is a historian of early modern England and an associate of the University of Oxford. She has published extensively on royal Tudor women and book history, including two monographs – Mary I and the Art of Book Dedications: Royal Women, Power, and Persuasion (2015) and Princesses Mary and Elizabeth Tudor and the Gift Book Exchange (2021). She has edited seven volumes on Queen Mary I, Shakespeare, and queenship, three of which are prizewinning in their fields. Her cultural biography of Anne of Cleves will be released in July 2026.