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Mary Queen of Scots

3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 · rating details · 5,346 ratings · 162 reviews

Author of Marie Antoinette

She was the quintessential queen: statuesque, regal, dazzlingly beautiful. Her royal birth gave her claim to the thrones of two nations; her marriage to the young French dauphin promised to place a third glorious crown on her noble head.

Instead, Mary Stuart became the victim of her own impulsive heart, scandalizing her world with a foolish passion...more

Paperback, 614 pages

Published September 1st 1993 by Delta (first published 1969)

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Apr 30, 2008 Bap rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography

I hesitate recommending this book because the writing is often dull and the author has an annoying habit of placing latin and french quotes without a translation. But in the end I do recommend this book because the story of Mary Queen of Scots tragic life is compelling. Twice a Queen, first of France than of Scotland. Mary was almost six foot tall in an age when five feet for woman was average. Beautiful, athletic, pampered, intelligent, naive and a magnet for misfortune. Her first husband died...more

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Dec 06, 2012 Erik Graff rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Mary fans

Recommended to Erik by: no one

Shelves: biography

This tome represents an impressive amount of research--too much if one expects a quick and easy read. While the portrayal is sympathetic, the picture which emerges of Queen Mary is not very positive. She was, as might be expected, spoiled, selfish and adolescent, certainly not one who might have been competent as an autocrat unless shepherded by ministers. As it was, she was poorly guided, both by her supposed allies and by her own unregulated desires. I was reminded of the late Princess of Wale...more

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Oct 22, 2011 Helen (Helena/Nell) rated it 5 of 5 stars

I won’t hiver-haver here: this is a wonderful book. From about page twenty onwards (it took a little while to get me into the swing of things) I was riveted. I arrived at page 691, on my third day of reading at 1.30 a.m., having been unable to put the volume down for the final three or four hours. As I lay in bed at the end of each day of reading, my mind returned to this astonishing woman, who was a Queen in the sixteenth century, and acquired mythic status. Which she deserved—which indeed she...more I won’t hiver-haver here: this is a wonderful book. From about page twenty onwards (it took a little while to get me into the swing of things) I was riveted. I arrived at page 691, on my third day of reading at 1.30 a.m., having been unable to put the volume down for the final three or four hours. As I lay in bed at the end of each day of reading, my mind returned to this astonishing woman, who was a Queen in the sixteenth century, and acquired mythic status. Which she deserved—which indeed she deserved.

It seemed to me suddenly that the history plays of Shakespeare, the murders and plots, the naked power struggles I always thought exaggerated in drama, were hardly exaggerated at all: this was how it was. These brutal ‘nobles’ of sixteenth century Scotland, plotting like contemporary gangs to get the upper hand, to knife or be knifed. And Mary herself, brought up and educated in France—a woman culturally finer, and a nicer person—not, despite best efforts, equipped to deal with the brutality, the cunning of it all.

Antonia Fraser is fascinated by her: and yet one doesn't feel she is manipulating the evidence in the interests of intensifying heroic stature. She has a dry way of commenting which is very appealing. When Mary celebrates her disastrous marriage to Darnley—seduced by his youth, his good looks, his height—Fraser says simply of their first night in bed together: “It is to be hoped that Mary Stuart, who had sacrificed so much for this match, found at least this part of the ceremony to her satisfaction”.

How sad—how deep the irony—that she fell for Darnley because she nursed him while ill. She had a strong motherly streak—and he was young, and good-looking, and weak, and grateful, and well-born. And thoroughly silly and spoilt. It seems likely that the illness which gave rise to her infatuation was probably syphilis, presumably acquired during Darnley’s well-trumpeted life style. He was a horrible young man and he met an ignoble death, in nothing but a night-gown in the garden of the house where assassins had intended him to die in an explosion. He tried, and failed, to escape.

And Bothwell, who kidnapped and probably raped Mary herself, met a much more gruesome end, while Mary herself died magnificently, with phenomenal courage. Oh what a death! She was larger than life. She was amazing. And this book, which recreates the complex events leading up to the execution, in which Mary’s own son James could have—but chose not to—save her from death, is a wonderful piece of narration. My head is still buzzing from it.

“Remember”, she said to her ‘judges’ in October 1586, “that the theatre of the world is wider than the realm of England.” And so it is, and so it is.
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Jul 25, 2011 Mel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history, scottish

There are no words to describe how much I love this book! I don't know how many times I've read it but each time I do it leaves me with a new feeling. Although a historical study, the book reads like a good novel. The writing is compassionate, thought-provoking as well as chillingly gritty. Antonia Fraser has written a complete account of Mary Stuart, a character analyses that was sadly lacking until she first tackled the subject forty-one years ago. What she writes is the story of a woman who i...more

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Jun 30, 2009 Ruth Ann rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: european-history

Antonia Fraser is one of my favorite authors. This book about the fabled Mary Queen of Scots is a real heartbreaker--like that poor Other Boleyn Girl a generation earlier, Mary Queen of Scots was used and then abused by the people who were supposed to support and protect her.

Unlike Mary Boleyn, she did not have the smarts to survive the intrigues of nobility. Time after time, she chose the wrong man to champion her, took the low road, and antagonized people who could have helped her.

After I rea...more

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Oct 17, 2011 Maia B. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical, nonfiction

Once again, I have dithered for minutes over what rating to give this book. Four, for its excellent research, bright writing, and obvious love of history? Or two, for its sometimes slow pace, untranslated French and Latin, and positively biased viewpoint on Mary herself?

So I settled on three, as so often before. That said, it may deserve more than that. It really is written very well; Antonia Fraser is not only a marvelous historian, she's a great writer. She writes easily and cleverly; the dry...more Once again, I have dithered for minutes over what rating to give this book. Four, for its excellent research, bright writing, and obvious love of history? Or two, for its sometimes slow pace, untranslated French and Latin, and positively biased viewpoint on Mary herself?

So I settled on three, as so often before. That said, it may deserve more than that. It really is written very well; Antonia Fraser is not only a marvelous historian, she's a great writer. She writes easily and cleverly; the dry lack of humor can be excused by the sprightly style. (Ugh. Sprightly is a word which ought to be mostly applied to energetic eighty-year-olds. Maybe it's not the best adjective here.) She has also obviously done her homework - she puts facts in the book which I would never think to wonder about, but which I love to know.

On the other hand...(there's always another hand).

On the other hand, Fraser is clearly utterly in love with her subject. She writes reams about how lovely Mary is (and conveniently forgets the ravages of old age when it's better to portray Mary as a strong, courageous woman than a crippled old hag); in the context of the Babington plot, she presents Mary as a hapless victim trapped in the large and sticky spider-web of Walsingham. Instead of saying straight out that Mary agreed to the murder of Elizabeth," she says something like "In her letter, Mary did not directly address the subject of Elizabeth's death [note: death, not murder, already it sounds less evil], instead agreeing vaguely to the rest of the plan." If she agreed to the rest of the plan, she agreed to Elizabeth's murder, especially if she was a) vague and b) didn't even address the topic directly!

I don't mind that she forgives Mary her disastrous second marriage to Darnley, but I do mind that she so completely exonerates Mary from the stain of planning his death.

That's another thing! Early in the book, she starts talking about things like "the tragedy at Kirk o'Field" and compares trauma in Mary's life to that of "the trauma after the murder of Riccio." Apparently we already know a lot about Mary and her tragedy! By the time anything actually happens, Fraser has already, tacitly or otherwise, told us what happened and when it happened and who was the perpetrator. If I had not known a bit about Mary before reading the book, I would have been completely baffled.

Despite Fraser's very sympathetic view of Mary, I find myself disliking her extremely. She relies on everyone around her for advice, assistance, and direction; she cries when something doesn't go her way (after she was incarcerated illegally by Elizabeth, this doesn't bother me, but it does when she's having a discussion with Knox and when she starts to lose the argument, takes refuge in tears); she lets everyone else push her and pull her wherever they may. She never stood up for herself until it was much too late.

Towards the end of the book I started to admire her more. At her joke of a trial (she was not allowed counselors or notes to use, and had to defend herself), she spoke loudly and strongly. (Though Fraser has emphasized her ill looks up to now to vilify Elizabeth's harsh treatment of her, she now forgets about that and presents Mary as tall, strong, and if not beautiful, at least attractive once more.) When she was told afterward that she was to die, she resigned herself bravely to the execution.

Then my admiration waned again. She chose to think that by dying under the executioner's sword, she would become a martyr, and that's why she was resigned to that kind of death. Her attitude was something like "Yay! I'm going to be a martyr!"

Yay.

i knew that after finishing the book, I'd choose which woman I liked more, Mary or Elizabeth. I've chosen Elizabeth. Despite her contrariness, vanity, and occasional cruelty, she took charge of her own life, and she led it the way she wanted it to be led. Mary, unfortunately, did no such thing. If she had, who knows what might have happened?(less)

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Jan 17, 2011 Rhonda Hankins added it

any historical novel by antonia fraser is going to be good. i suppose the story of mary queen of scots & that of marie antoinette are so compelling as to tie for my favorite.

i always wonder what might have happened if mary queen of scots's french dauphin had not been so sickly. if he had been a strong, long-lived king, would they have joined forces with catholic spain and invaded england? in that event, would scones, the victoria & albert museum, and the plays of shakepeare be just invis...more

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Mar 02, 2009 Lynne-marie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 30, 2012 Brett rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nf-hist-biography

This sprawling, fascinating book is the most appealing & exhaustive look at the famous (or infamous) Mary Queen of Scots that I have read. It shows why Lady Antonia Fraser is truly a past master at the art of making history into something so richly gripping that fiction just can't touch it. I feel that it will appeal to people who are either serious history junkies or people who are just interested in reading more about this tragic offshoot of the Tudor dynasty, destroyed by her own family b...more

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Aug 03, 2011 Susu added it · review of another edition

Shelves: import-visual-bookshelf

Hamburg - Frankfurt - Hamburg - enough time to get a serious headstart - then one whole day lounging in cafés and beside the Alster... Mary Stuart is depicted in great detail and the author tries to give enough detail and background to support her view on Mary Stuart´s life. In her view the woman can´t go wrong and if she does there always seems to be good reason - that gives the impression as if the author has tweaked the whole thing a little in her favor. Whatever - very readable biography.

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Jul 12, 2012 Bev Hankins marked it as did-not-finish

Shelves: non-fiction, biography

I'm only about 1/8 of the way through this, and I must say that so far it is boring me silly. I'm reading it for my Birth Year Challenge and the biggest questions in my mind is "Why did Antonia Fraser have to publish this in 1969?" and "What made me put it on my challenge TBR list?" Actually, I can answer that last one...I've always been fascinated by the history of the British Isles and I'd heard about this book long ago and far away. When it popped up on a list of books for my birth year, I th...more
I'm only about 1/8 of the way through this, and I must say that so far it is boring me silly. I'm reading it for my Birth Year Challenge and the biggest questions in my mind is "Why did Antonia Fraser have to publish this in 1969?" and "What made me put it on my challenge TBR list?" Actually, I can answer that last one...I've always been fascinated by the history of the British Isles and I'd heard about this book long ago and far away. When it popped up on a list of books for my birth year, I thought it would be a good addition to my quest. The front of the books says: "A book that will leave few readers unmoved." The movement I'm most tempted to make at the moment is to throw the book out the window. And that is NOT typical book-handling behavior for me. I'm hoping that once we get the background history taken care of and get more into the life of Mary Queen of Scots, that I'll change my mind.

*************************

Okay, I am officially crying "Uncle!" Two hundred and fifty pages in (not even half-way through) and I can take no more of Antonia Fraser's Mary Queen of Scots. I really wanted to finish this...having a love for the British Isles and their history. But I just cannot read one more word. Historical writing has come a long way in the last 41 years and there are a lot of writers out there who can take subject matter that is much less exciting than the life of Mary, Queen of Scots, and keep the reader waiting on the edge of their seat to see what comes next.

Not Fraser. She's excellent as a mystery writer. And I'm going to have to go find one of her mysteries to read to remind myself how excellent.

Her history of Scotland's beleaguered queen leaves much to be desired. A varied vocabulary would be nice for starters. There was an abundance of repeated phrases--so much so that I kept double-checking the page number to be sure that I hadn't read the particular chapter before. I also found the repeated references to Mary dissolving into tears when meeting with various lords and noblemen to be very grating. On the one hand, Fraser seems to be trying to portray Mary as a much more level-headed and politically-minded young queen than Elizabeth of England...but then she ruins the scene with all the waterworks. And maybe it's the difference of 40 years, but I find the footnote & reference note system to be terribly unhelpful. I am used to footnotes, end notes & reference notes that actually clarify the points noted. When Fraser makes a note in reference to some of these weeping episodes, for instance, she merely directs the reader to the source in question. I would have to go find the work and look up the reference to find out what exactly history has to say about the particular episode. Why was Mary weeping? What bearing, if any, did it have on the conference's outcome? And this happens for every note made. The reader has rare access to the source material (there are few quoted passages) to judge for herself.

I might not have minded all that so much, if the writing were brisk and accessible and made me actually care about the story of the Queen of Scots. From the Amazon synopsis and what I know of history, this could have been a very good historical story, indeed. Just because it is history and factual, doesn't mean it can't be engaging. Good history is. I'm sorry to have to say, this isn't. Rating equals Did Not Finish.

This review was first posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting any portion. Thanks.(less)

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Aug 05, 2010 Slayermel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone who enjoys detailed facts over just pure story telling

Shelves: biography, english, female-authors, history, non-fiction, politics, religion, scottish, tudor, 2010, 20th-century, bookcrossing

Well I have finally finished this book; it only took me 28 days (that was pure sarcasm by the way).

Let’s start off with all the positives about this book.

Antonia Fraser loves detail and it comes through, she really does her research and that definitely impressed me. I learned things about Mary Queen of Scots that I probably would have never thought to look up, but was nice to know, the subtleties which really bring a character from history to life. Not to mention I enjoyed learning of all the h...more Well I have finally finished this book; it only took me 28 days (that was pure sarcasm by the way).

Let’s start off with all the positives about this book.

Antonia Fraser loves detail and it comes through, she really does her research and that definitely impressed me. I learned things about Mary Queen of Scots that I probably would have never thought to look up, but was nice to know, the subtleties which really bring a character from history to life. Not to mention I enjoyed learning of all the horrible things people did back then and didn’t seem to think there was a problem with it. Like pickling people and putting them in a barrel after you’ve killed them, yuck. The quartering of people after they have been condemned to death! The way they would treat a corpse after someone has been executed. I just could not understand how these people thought about these things and that was kind of fascinating to me. I like to know what makes people tick.

Also I really loved how neutral Antonia Fraser stayed in the writing of this book. She was not pro Mary or Elizabeth which sometimes we all get sucked into. She just enjoyed telling the history we get to see Mary’s strengths and weaknesses along with her faults. We also get to see the relationship her and Elizabeth had and the thinking that went into Elizabeth finally signing the execution warrant. It’s not all as simple as you would think. These were definitely two very strong women of their time, and there was a lot of corruption and plots that went on around them. Very sad!

This book is so detailed that we start of in the very beginning, a quick overview of her parents and then Mary is born. From there we follow her to France, her schooling and all the way through to her death at the very end. I enjoyed that Antonia Fraser set it up in to chapters. Each chapter represents an important stage in her life.

Now the things I didn’t enjoy, which leave me to only give the book three stars.

Antonia Fraser is so focused on giving us all the facts which leaves the book very dry and begging for more of a story to excite us, especially since the book is close to 700 pages.

The book took me 28 days to read as I found myself constantly falling asleep on the couch after getting about 15 pages read, this was very frustrating.

I got very frustrated with all the French and Latin quotes and the fact that there was not always a translation for them. I hate to break it to you Antonia but we don’t all speak French or Latin. A translation would have been nice, especially when they were occasionally scattered throughout the book, why not translate all of them?

The one pet peeve I had in the beginning of the story was the amount of times we had to read a description of Mary’s looks and how beautiful she was. Then we learn about a new character and once again back to Mary’s looks. I get it already after the fifth time I’m done. I could paint her bloody portrait by mind now, is that what you were aiming for?

I will give Antonia Fraser a chance to redeem herself as I do love how factual she is, I just hope that she has learned to tell more of a story since 1969 when this book was first released.
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Oct 31, 2009 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have to admit that before reading this, I mainly knew Mary Queen of Scots from the film Elizabeth, where she was presented in a minor part as a sensual French Catholic traitor prolonging a bloody war with England.
In actuality, her story is almost more fascinating than that of Elizabeth, her cousin: Mary serves as Queen of France until her husband the King dies, when they're both barely 20. She returns to Scotland as Queen. But Scotland is still very medieval, plus it's protestant and she's Cat...more I have to admit that before reading this, I mainly knew Mary Queen of Scots from the film Elizabeth, where she was presented in a minor part as a sensual French Catholic traitor prolonging a bloody war with England.
In actuality, her story is almost more fascinating than that of Elizabeth, her cousin: Mary serves as Queen of France until her husband the King dies, when they're both barely 20. She returns to Scotland as Queen. But Scotland is still very medieval, plus it's protestant and she's Catholic, which pits her against many of the ruling nobles, even though she shows herself to be tolerant of her Protestant subjects.
Her undoing is her private life: Her second husband is murdered leaving her a widow again, and more importantly to those seeking power, single and free to remarry. One of her advisers takes advantage of this, kidnapping her (probably with her knowledge) and then to ensure she will marry him and make him king, he rapes her. This all leads to her removal from the Scottish throne and eventual imprisonment and beheading.
And those are just the cliff notes.
This is my second Antonia Fraser book and now i see her pattern as a historian who's out to clear the name, or at least explain, some of the most hated/misunderstood women in history. In both books, she puts herself on the side of the queen, explaining their actions, defending them from some of their harshest critics, though she also does acknowledge their faults.
But it seems necessary. Mary's problems during her reign of Scotland can be attributed as much to the fact that she was a woman as that she was Catholic.
It's fascinating to think about Mary, a ruling women in the 16th century whose marriages proved her undoing and led to her beheading, versus Elizabeth, who ruled in the same time but never married (never sharing her power) and had a far more successful reign that ended in natural death. Obviously, there were many other factors at play - they were very different women. Mary is more trusting, Elizabeth more guarded. Mary was a Catholic in a Protestant land, whereas Elizabeth shared the religion of her subjects. But still, it shows the vulnerabilities of being a female ruler during a time when marriage, not elections, was the key to gaining power.
One of Fraser's greatest strengths is how she delves into who these women were so that they become three-dimensional and so that it's more like reading a novel than a history book. Mary read, not romances like Marie Antionette, but history books, Greek and Latin classics. She had long beautiful fingers, long auburn hair or sometimes wigs.
One of the most compelling parts was the section where Fraser described Mary's last night before being beheaded. It's as if we're in the room with Mary as she's deciding who should get what of hers, waiting to see what she will do in her last few hours. And we see how in the end she transforms herself from merely a wronged queen into a stoic Catholic martyr.
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Sep 05, 2011 Silver rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

I do not read a lot of non-fiction, becasue often times I find the way non-fiction books read, tends to be tedious and dry and feel a bot text book like, but I am interested in history and I do try and expand out my reading experiences.

I have to say that I thought Fraser did a wonderful job with this book, it read almost like a novel for me, something that rarely happens with non-fiction. It was such a captivating and engaging story from start to finish. I was a bit daunted at the prospect of r...more

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Jun 13, 2010 Jane Davis rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

This on of the few books from my teaching days that I have kept. Antonia Fraser gives a very through and detailed account of Mary Stewart from her earliest day the her death. Fraser draws conclusions on the reasons for the murder of Mary's secretary, the death of her second husband and her disastorous third marriage. She also goes into Mary's relationship with Elizabeth of England and Philip of Spain. Dry as dust? To the layman, yes. To we odd ones, no.

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Dec 30, 2012 Liz rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a cool glimpse into the life of a young, elegant, charming, but sickly queen thrust into a turbulent life. The Scottish nobles of the time were the most corrupt bunch of scoundrels you can imagine; loyalty was impossible to obtain, murder was barely given a second thought. The book was long and sometimes the more tedious details (I don't care how many dresses she had or what material they were made from) slowed me down. But some juicy or morbid bit is always just around the bend, like h...more

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Mar 06, 2009 Kelly marked it as to-read

Shelves: history-british

I want to read this because I want to answer the question, 'Why is everyone so fascinated by this damn woman??'. I've never liked her. I've always thought she was stupid, petty, petulant and self-indulgent. I pity her, but I've never respected her in the least. She seems to have some rabid fans. I'm curious as to why. Perhaps Fraser, whose voice I really like in her stories of Henry VIII's wives, will be able to explain it to me.

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Wealhtheow Mel, I agree that Mary of Scotland was clearly charismatic, and certainly she had some very tragic events in her life. Her father's very early death,...more
Aug 02, 2011 06:06pm

Mel Alright, I see what you're saying but I still disagree heartily. Let's, just for a moment, turn your argument on it's head. Mary did believe in her ri...more Alright, I see what you're saying but I still disagree heartily. Let's, just for a moment, turn your argument on it's head. Mary did believe in her right to rule because she was brought up in the French court where absolute monarchs ruled absolutely but remember this- Mary was never raised to be a queen in her own right, she was never taught how to rule. When she married poor wee Francois, he was granted the crown matrimonial, i.e. he would run the affairs of both Scotland and France, she would be queen really in name only. When she returns to Scotland it's a complete culture shock. The nobility have a much greater power than they do in France, she's a woman in a chauvinistic land and in a land where people hate the fact that she is Catholic. Now look at Mary's early reign and tell me that she wasn't a good sovereign; history shows that she ruled with tolerance, even generosity when it came to the religious issue. She prudently maintained the reigns on her constantly scrapping nobles. Her mains faults or problems were the fact that she suffered with depression throughout her life and had lousy taste in men. When you look at before the birth of James, her decisions were very practical, logical but after James' birth all hell breaks loose. There is significant evidence to suggest she was suffering from post-natal depression. Now in comparison to Elizabeth may I take the time to remind you that at one time Mary was praised by Elizabeth's own ambassadors because Mary ran her court so soberly and efficiently that they wished their own queen could be more like her instead of run what was the Elizabethan equivalent to a debauched gin palace. Mary also did not enveagle herself in any plot either. If you are talking about the so-called "casket letters" then read Fraser's chapter, it offers a better description of events than I can here but suffice to say there is more than adequate evidence to state that the letters were indeed forged and Mary falsely accused. As for Mary's political acumen, I will also say that up until the Battle of Langside where the Marian party was finally defeated, Mary had led a largely successful military campaign against her brother's forces and there is a reason why her own campaign had such a greater following- the people could see that Mary had been wronged and wanted her back on the throne, even if she did not possess the same supposed strength as a king or even the same religion as them. In the end though, Mary was defeated so she turns to Elizabeth, her own cousin who had, for years and years, promised her friendship and assistance from one queen to another. Perhaps naively Mary had believed these promises but at the time she had had no reason to doubt that these offers of friendship and protection were anything but what they seemed. Instead Elizabeth was a callous, cold, treacherous and devious woman riddled with jealousy who, in the end only saw Mary as a threat and now that she was in England, she was going to keep her where she could see her. Of course we all know what happens at the end of the story. After spending the last twenty years of her life in various prisons around England Mary is then forced into an illegal "trial" if you could call it that and eventually wrongfully executed having not been allowed to see the so-called evidence against, not being allowed any kind of lawyer or council and in a language that she could not truly understand being as she was not a natural English speaker (she did in fact speak Scots, French, Latin, Spanish and a little Greek but had only started learning the English during her captivity). So with all this in mind I don't really think it's fair to accuse Mary of total ineptitude. She had her faults, of course, as we all do but if anything her faults were much more human and far less to do with her substantial political acumen. If she was guilty of anything it was simply of trusting people too easily, people like her brother, Darnley, Bothwell and Elizabeth who would in the end turn out to be the real causes of her own downfall.(less)
Aug 03, 2011 05:15am

Nov 13, 2012 Jamie Godsafe rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was the first book I read by Antonia Fraser and I love the way that she brings Mary to life. This could so easily have been a dry academic snorefest but despite the meticulous research Antonia gives you a feel for the humanity of the woman living in a fraught political atmosphere.
Once you get past the initial dryness you will find that there are layers of complexity to Antonia's writing which reveal her passion for her subject.

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Feb 13, 2012 Claire rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical

So, so good - Antonia Fraser's writing is marvelous and sophisticated. She chronicles Mary Stuart's life with compassion yet clear-sightedness. As much as I liked Mary by the end of the book, I was convinced that her impetuous, trusting, whole-hearted nature was just not right to rule a country like Scotland. As a side note, I must say that Fraser's descriptions of contemporary Scotland were especially intriguing. All in all, a totally satisfactory and enjoyable read.

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Jan 21, 2012 Dr. Jim rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've always been intrigued with Mary's story, and with historian Fraser's writing in this book and others. Fraser captures Mary's story with great accuracy and feeling. The ponderous historical facts get lost in the very human story of her life from the time she was a girl until she was executed as queen of Scotland. Clearly, a main focus is the relationship with her cousin Elizabeth I of England who is her eventual executioner.

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Jul 08, 2011 Charlotte Liebel rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: British History

Shelves: author, classic, non-fiction-drama, historical-non-fiction

Magnificent. Detailed historical drama of Mary Queen of Scots. Gripping story of a brave woman who had to endure an end sentence in death and who, ultimately, lived in squalid surroundings. The last few pages were dear and touching ~ particularly disheartening and tragic.

I loved reading this book. The writing was so vivid as to become aware and to share the joys and tragedies of Mary Queen of Scots.

~Charlotte Liebel

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Nov 06, 2008 Wayne marked it as to-read Recommends it for: History Passionates

Recommended to Wayne by: marie antoinette..also a head loser!!!

Shelves: memoirs-biography, history, tudor-history

Did she or didn't she??....assist in the gruesome murder of her husband,the spoilt obnoxious Lord Darnley?
She certainly married one of his murderers!!

I read "The Crime of Mary Stuart" by George Malcolm Thomson,who delves into the Casket Letters, and thought Mary looked pretty much incriminated by available evidence and in ONLY 180 pages!!!

Because of George's book, I've had Antonia's book sitting on my shelf for years, reluctant to read what I perceived to be a too softly softly approach.NOW I'm...more

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May 19, 2011 Benjamin Lettuce Treuhaft rated it 5 of 5 stars

It's great to see that religious wars aren't just for Bush and Obama. They raged in the 16th century too. Mary was a Catholic in times, described in sometimes ridiculous detail in this wonderfully written book, where heretics like her could be decapitated faster than a Shiite at a Sunni rally.

Fraser mounts a convincing defense of Mary more like an advocate than an historian. I liked it.

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Mar 22, 2011 Lysbeth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Fraser is clearly writing in order to rehabilitate Mary Stuart's tarnished reputation, and while I was willing to swallow much of her scrubbing of the queen's life in Scotland, Fraser stretches credulity once the queen is imprisoned in England. It's pretty obvious that the author is contemptuous of Elizabeth I (which I find reprehensible) which blinds her to Stuart's failings.

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Apr 18, 2012 Donna Parker rated it 4 of 5 stars

Don't know if I should say spoilers on this one, but Mary dies. There, I said it. I quite like Antonia Fraser, her storytelling is always spot-on and she was married to Harold Pinter, wasn't she, so that's kind of well, cool and irrelevant, which then leads us back to the book. I like history, doesn't always teach us something, but at least it's always there.

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May 10, 2011 Kate F rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A book about one of the most divisive and controversial figures of British history. She spent many years as a closely guarded 'guest' of Elizabeth the first, one of, if not the greatest of England's monarchs. How much her ultimate fate was a result of her flawed character I will leave you to decide but in Antonia Fraser's biography you have a great start - enjoy!

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Jan 02, 2009 Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm sure I would have found this fascinating, had I not been overconfident of my abilities at 2 am. I tried to read this while feeding a newborn, it didn't work. The fault is entirely my own ... for what I was able to comprehend, it was extraordinarily well written and researched. Maybe someday when my sanity has returned, I'll read it again.

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Mar 05, 2012 Helenmschilling rated it 5 of 5 stars

Who knew that Mary, Queen of Scots started her life as the beautiful and vivacious Queen of France? After her husband, King of France died, she could have stayed in France, well loved by the people and well provided for. But she didn't, she went to Scotland and that was when her troubles and bad choices in husbands began. Fascinating.

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Dec 16, 2011 Salvatore rated it 3 of 5 stars

The writing at times can be dull and too long winded or without enough citations, but it is a fascinating story - that of Mary. Such an unfortunate, unlikely life as told by Frasier who perhaps is too sympathetic to her subject and refuses to blemish this Queen. Still, the beheading sequence was impressive and wild. This book certainly portrays Mary as she wanted to be seen at her execution, as a martyr for humanity.

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Jun 26, 2011 Tej rated it 3 of 5 stars

This could have been written with all of the drama and suspense of a novel. Unfortunately, it was written as if the author assumed the reader already knew the story. Alas, I knew almost nothing about Mary Stuart when I started this. There were so many unfamiliar names and events that I really had a hard time keeping it straight. Admittedly, that's more my fault than the author's. I can't deny it was a good learning experience. Perhaps I'll read it again and enjoy it more when it's not so foreign...more

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About Antonia Fraser

Lady Antonia Fraser (Pinter), CBE, is a British author of history and novels, best known as Antonia Fraser for writing biographies and detective fiction, and the second wife of Harold Pinter, the 2005 Nobel Laureate in Literature.

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* Jemima Shore

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“Darnley, who, like Banquo's ghost, seemed to play a much more effective part in Scottish politics once he was dead than when he was alive.” — 1 person liked it

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