Notes from the Charlotte Mary Yonge Fellowship (CMYF):
According to some accounts, Mary Queen of Scots bore a child to her last husband, the earl of Bothwell, while imprisoned at Loch Leven. In Unknown to History C.M. Yonge weaves the story of this child, linking it with that of her mother. According to the novel, the child is christened Bride, and put on a ship bound for France. However, the ship is wrecked on the Yorkshire coast. Bride, the sole survivor, is rescued by one Captain Talbot. He and his wife rechristen her Cicely, and rear her as their own. They are high-principled and loving, and Cicely has a happy and secure childhood at their manor house.
