Mary of Burgundy; or, the Revolt of Ghent

by G. P. R. James

First published 1833

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3.2(6)

Set in the Burgundian Netherlands in 1477, Mary of Burgundy begins as the death of Charles the Bold leaves his young daughter Mary to inherit a rich but politically fractured state. Ghent and other cities press their privileges while France threatens Burgundian territories, and Mary’s marriage becomes a question of international strategy as well as personal destiny. James places fictional relationships within this constitutional and dynastic crisis, where urban power, noble allegiance and foreign pressure all compete for influence.

Mary’s eventual marriage to Maximilian of Habsburg tied the Burgundian inheritance to the dynasty that would dominate much of European politics in the following century. The novel uses that turning point to explore the vulnerability of hereditary rule when a succession is disputed and a ruler is young. Courtship, revolt and diplomacy therefore become different expressions of the same struggle over who will control Burgundy’s future.