PAULINA KEWES and ANDREW MCRAE (eds). Stuart Succession Literature: Moments and Transformations

Abstract

Succession literature, this collection argues, is not so much a genre but a category of early modern writing. Beyond what we might consider as the more obvious manifestations, such as panegyric verse or accession day sermons, succession literature stretched across forms and modes, e.g. poetry, drama, prose, sermons, speeches, pageants, pamphlets. It also proliferated across media, particularly print, and material culture such as medals, engravings, coins, or the decking out of Westminster Abbey. Succession literature also deals with a great deal more than advice to the monarch. It addressed virtually every aspect of the cultural, historical, and political events surrounding succession: the death of a monarch; their reputation; deposition and/or abdication; accession of the heir(s); coronation; and in particular during the Protectorate and following the Glorious Revolution, constitutional debate around questions of effective government. Rhetorically, succession literature functioned often to legitimize a successor to the throne in the long line of Stuart rulers, although some monarchs, like Queen Anne, sought to downplay that heritage. It catered both for the domestic market, or as several chapters in this book argue, for international audiences such as the Dutch or French, who read their succession literature as news, documents of diplomacy, indications of allegiance in ongoing cross-border conflicts, or as work either supporting or criticizing the public image of the Stuart monarchy in the face of European political and religious upheaval.