Ashley Douglas has just written a fascinating history that tells of the life of Marie Maitland, a woman of 16th-century Scotland now known to be an important poet at the time of Mary, Queen of Scots. We talked to Ashley Douglas about her book, and of discovering a vital voice from Scotland’s past.

With My Own Hand: The Secret Life of Marie Maitland, Scotland’s Secret Sappho
By Ashley Douglas
Published by Headline Press

Well done, Ashley, on the publication of your new book, With My Own Hand: The Secret Life of Marie Maitland, Scotland’s Sixteenth Century Sappho. Can you tell our readers what to expect in reading it? 

Thank you! I am so excited that it’s now out in the world! Readers will be immersed in the never-before-told story of a remarkable woman named Marie Maitland. Marie lived more than 400 years ago, at the time of Mary, Queen of Scots and John Knox, and yet a twist of fate meant that she got to lead a unique life as a meaningfully independent woman. Marie was also a woman who loved other women, which we know because of the poetry she left us, in her own hand. 

We must admit, we hadn’t heard of Marie Maitland before hearing about your book. How did you find out about her? 

You shouldn’t feel bad for not having heard of her before now – my book, published in 2026, is the first ever biography of her! I stumbled upon Marie Maitland entirely by accident, while researching for the National Library of Scotland’s ‘Wee Windaes’ project. When I opened the Library’s modern edition of a sixteenth-century manuscript of Scots poetry, I was not expecting to find a woman’s name on the front page, let alone to find lesbian love poetry inside. I made it my mission from that point to find out everything I could about this woman and to tell her story. 

Can you tell us more about life in sixteenth century Scotland, particularly for women like Marie Maitland? 

The sixteenth century was a time of great change. Through the Reformation of 1560, Scotland abandoned the old Catholic Church for an austere brand of Protestantism known as Calvinism. underpinned by misogyny and moralising zeal. It was a time and place where women were viewed as inferior to men in all ways, and where same-sex relations – ‘sodomy’ – whether between men or women, was one of the worst transgressions imaginable, societally condemned and formally penalised. At the same time, however, Protestantism also encouraged literacy and education, in order to enable people to read the scriptures for themselves. 

Why do you think her father employed her instead of getting in a male clerk?

This really changed her life. Sir Richard Maitland seems to have been a kindly father, who took an interest in the education of his daughters as well as his sons. Of course, he would also have had the support of court clerks and his male servants, but he also seized the opportunity of his youngest daughter still being at home to act as his scribe. 

When did scholars become aware of her poetry? 

Scholars have long been aware of the Maitland Quarto manuscript and the anonymous poetry within its pages; the first time that some of it was printed was in 1786. However, Marie’s authorship of the manuscript, the significance of its female-authored poetry, and particularly the lesbian love poetry, has not always been acknowledged, let alone meaningfully recognised and celebrated. 

Can you tell us more about Poem 49? 

Poem 49 is a powerful love poem of nine stanzas, in historical Scots, written by Marie Maitland to the woman she was in love with. In it, Marie even declares her desire to marry the woman who has her heart. 

Do you think there might be more work from her still to be found? 

The Maitland Quarto does appear to have been the one place where Marie wanted to showcase her scribal and poetic skills for posterity, but I would love to think that there are also other letters or papers out there in her hand, that would shed even more light on her story. 

What do you hope for now for Marie Maitland now that you’ve written this book? 

I hope that, after many centuries in the dark, she gains the recognition she deserves – and that women who love women today, in particular, can take strength and inspiration from her story. 

With My Own Hand: The Secret Life of Marie Maitland, Scotland’s Secret Sappho by Ashley Douglas is published by Headline Press, priced £22.