Mary Queen of Scots

by Antonia Fraser
Mary Queen of Scots
book data
683 ratings, 3.80 average rating, 58 reviews (more data...)
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published
September 1st 1993 (first published 1969) by Delta

binding
Paperback, 640 pages

isbn
038531129X    (isbn13: 9780385311298)

description
Author of Marie Antoinette

She was the quintessential queen: statuesque, regal, dazzlingly beautiful. Her royal birth gave her claim to the thrones of ...more




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Bap
04/30/08
Bap rated it: 3 of 5 stars

bookshelves: 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 ...more
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Ruth Ann
06/30/09
Ruth Ann rated it: 4 of 5 stars

Read in January, 2006
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....more
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Lynne-marie
03/02/09
Lynne-marie rated it: 4 of 5 stars

Read in May, 2008
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Jennifer
10/20/08
Jennifer rated it: 4 of 5 stars

Read in October, 2008
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...more
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Kelly
03/06/09
Kelly marked it as to-read

bookshelves: history-to-read, to-read
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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Wayne
11/06/08
Wayne marked it as to-read

recommended to Wayne by: marie antoinette..also a head loser!!!
recommends it for: History Passionates
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...more
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Elizabeth
01/02/09
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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Jeanette
01/28/09
Jeanette rated it: 5 of 5 stars

Again, a tragic figure who was as much the victim as the antagonizer. It makes me wonder what our history and what we would be like if she had lived and Elizabeth had died.
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Angie Simonton
06/22/09
Angie Simonton rated it: 4 of 5 stars

Antonia Fraser is an awesome historical biographer. I put this on my "Tudor" bookshelf because she was Elizabeth I's first cousin, and her son inherited Elizabeth's crown.
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Amy
05/24/09
Amy is currently reading it (review of isbn 2971777375)

bookshelves: currently-reading
So far I like the way Antonia Fraser goes about things...brisk but factual, leaving you with the impression that she really has done her research. We'll see if it lasts!
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Amy
07/02/08
Amy rated it: 4 of 5 stars

Read in August, 2008
recommends it for: students of history, feminists
Though one must read this book with a slightly knowing eye as the author clearly seeks out to redeem Mary Stuart's reputation, it is well-written, beautifully-researched, and quite engaging. Mary Stuart lived a fascinating life, far more interesting and eventful than any soap-opera or fiction writer could come up with. Though the book isn't entirely objective, the author does a good job of describing the different versions and/or myths about Mary's life, and explaining why she believes her versi...more
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Amelia
11/24/08
Amelia rated it: 4 of 5 stars

A little slow in places, but in general it's a good read. I love history.
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Naomi
08/31/07
Naomi rated it: 5 of 5 stars

Read in January, 1986
I remember sitting up on the toilet all night reading this book because that was the only room I could legitimately have the light on. I hardly remember the story, but remember the feeling and urgency I had in reading it. When I went to Edinburough I stumbled across the castle that she and her husband lived in and where she is said to have cooked up the plan to murder him. It was just a ruin but I loved wandering around the rooms (and the bedchamber with the quant little gaurdiroom to the side) ...more
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Carrie
02/26/09
Carrie rated it: 2 of 5 stars

For such an exciting historical figure, this novel got quite tedious.
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Genean Mckinnon
03/14/09
Genean Mckinnon added it

mary/elizabeth . . . my favorite saga from history
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Rebecca
04/02/09
Rebecca rated it: 3 of 5 stars

Read in January, 1994
Historical accounts with a bit of intrigue . . .
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Eileen
02/21/09
Eileen rated it: 4 of 5 stars

Don't ever put your fate in the hands of others!
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Jenalyn
02/04/09
Jenalyn rated it: 5 of 5 stars

threw out george's version. this one is fab!
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Myra
01/01/09
Myra is currently reading it

bookshelves: currently-reading
Kinda slow moving, but still good.
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Irene
02/05/09
Irene rated it: 5 of 5 stars

Read in January, 1999
TRAGIC LIFE
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Mary Queen of Scots (Women in History)
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