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The Memoirs of Mary Queen of Scots

3.21 of 5 stars 3.21 · rating details · 621 ratings · 102 reviews

Queen of Scotland at six days of age, married as a young girl to the invalid young king of France, Mary took the reins of the unruly kingdom of Scotland as a young widow and fought to keep her throne. A second marriage to her handsome but dissolute cousin Lord Darnley ended in murder and scandal, while a third to the dashing Lord Bothwell, the love of her life, gave her jo...more

Paperback, 352 pages

Published September 14th 2010 by St. Martin's Griffin (first published August 12th 2009)

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Oct 31, 2009 Misfit rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: wall-banger

Erickson's latest *historical entertainment* (her words) covers the life of Mary Queen of Scots from the time she was married to Francis and became Queen Consort of France, her return to Scotland as Queen after she is widowed, her marriage to the despicable Darnley and his murder, her subsequent marriage to Bothwell and her eventual imprisonment by Elizabeth I. It's all known history and I needn't spend much time rehashing it because Erickson totally reinvents it anyway - and quite badly I might...more Erickson's latest *historical entertainment* (her words) covers the life of Mary Queen of Scots from the time she was married to Francis and became Queen Consort of France, her return to Scotland as Queen after she is widowed, her marriage to the despicable Darnley and his murder, her subsequent marriage to Bothwell and her eventual imprisonment by Elizabeth I. It's all known history and I needn't spend much time rehashing it because Erickson totally reinvents it anyway - and quite badly I might add.

***Spoiler warning - that is if anyone really cares***

Let's see, where shall I begin? The prologue wherein Bothwell and their invented by Erickson secret daughter that no one knew existed witness Mary's execution (!!)? The Queen of France dressing up as a peasant and going to taverns to spy on Bothwell (!!). More? Bothwell dressing up as a peddler and visiting Mary off and on during her captivity (remember now, history says he was imprisoned and died in Denmark)? Better yet, he’s able to get her alone in the stillroom and make whoopee (!!). More? Representatives from the Pope manage to get Mary away from where she was being held and take her to Rome where she meets with the Pope and they plan a crusade to oust Elizabeth from the throne (no, I am not making this up). Of course the plot fails when Don John is called back to save Rome from the Infidels and the whole army just ups and leaves her alone and she has to travel back to grandmamma's home all by herself on a horse (maybe I missed something but I swear she was alone - not even a lady or two to attend her).

I'd go on, but you get the picture. Perhaps there are people who like their history made up and ridiculous but I've yet to meet one. Worse yet, this made up history is so badly written with no character development, poor dialogue - egad Bothwell's nickname for her is "Orange Blossom" (ugh).

I'll just finish this off with a few quotes from the author's notes,

"Readers eager to uncover the factual truth of the past, that ever elusive goal of historians, must look elsewhere than in these pages, where "thick-coming fancies" crowd out sober evidence and whimsy prevails."

Whimsy? WTF?

"Yet in whimsy, at times, is to be found a richer truth than in the tantalizingly fragmented, often untrustworthy historical record."

Hate to say it, but this isn't even entertaining. It's just bad, unbelievably bad. Only if the library has it and you're looking for a good laugh or a sleeping pill. Seriously.(less)

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Oct 08, 2012 Cathy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Frequently while reading "The Memoirs of Mary Queen of Scots" I found myself wanting to slap her. First of all, when faced with a dilemma she inevitably chose the worse of her two options. Her reasoning? "Because I'm a queen, and I'm not meant to stay in the background." Ok, you're a queen who never gets to rule anything and ends up being beheaded by your cousin. Enough said. Also, the prologue where her husband is watching her head being chopped off doesn't match the events in the rest of the b...more

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Feb 24, 2012 Linda Lipko rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historial-fiction, tudor-history

Nine years apart in age, cousins Elizabeth I and Mary were diametrically different. While older than Elizabeth, Mary was the immature one.

While Elizabeth was serious, Mary was silly
While Elizabeth was auspicious, Mary was absurd
While Elizabeth was clever, Mary was foolish
While Elizabeth possessed a great deal of political knowledge and intelligence, Mary was ignorant
While Elizabeth was cunning, Mary was reckless
While Elizabeth was calm and calculating, Mary was impetuous

When writing historical f...more

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Feb 21, 2012 Liz added it · review of another edition

The Memoirs of Mary Queen of Scots is a first person account of the life of Mary Queen of Scots from around the age of fifteen up until her death by the order of her cousin Queen Elizabeth the first of England. The main character Mary in other books has been displayed as a strong rival of Elizabeth who plotted her death, and who was really more vilified in other plot lines that I've read. She had a strong backing in the Catholic movement of the time, who looked at Elizabeth as a "Protestant Whor...more

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Mar 07, 2013 Jean Farrell rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Sep 12, 2009 Tara Chevrestt rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: women-that-really-existed-fiction, historical-fiction, scotland

First I want to say that I like Erickson's writing style. Having read one of her books before, I had high expectations for this. This particular novel of hers does not work for me tho. Whereas I like the fact that it is not 1000 pages and it gets to the point, unlike Margaret George's version, I hated how Mary Queen of Scots comes across. She is a simpering, whiny, worthless woman.

The book begins in France with her marriage to the impotent, childlike, and sickly dauphin, Francis. Thankfully, he...more First I want to say that I like Erickson's writing style. Having read one of her books before, I had high expectations for this. This particular novel of hers does not work for me tho. Whereas I like the fact that it is not 1000 pages and it gets to the point, unlike Margaret George's version, I hated how Mary Queen of Scots comes across. She is a simpering, whiny, worthless woman.

The book begins in France with her marriage to the impotent, childlike, and sickly dauphin, Francis. Thankfully, he dies quickly in the story. I couldn't take much of him. However, once Francis is out of the picture, his replacement, the Lord Darnley, is even more nauseating. This man fornicates with singing Italian men, kicks his servants in the crotch, and even goes so far as to practically paralyze a man because he walked into a room before Prince Henry. However, for reasons that are not made clear, Mary BEGS this man to marry her. As callous as this is going to sound, I failed to feel sorry for Mary anymore after this even when Henry rapes her in front of his friends. Because up to this point, all Mary has done is buy dresses to impress this guy. There is never any mention of her ruling her kingdom, listening to petitions, or doing anything remotely worthwhile for her country or its subjects. There has been a battle that she supervised only to feel sick afterwards.

I never grew to like this woman. When the gunpowder plot occurs, she practically faints and then has her lady Margaret rub her stomach for her so she doesn't vomit. When she escapes to England and is in captivity with George and Bess as her guardians, she demands cloth of state over chair and more horses and this and that. When an ambush occurs that breaks Lady Margaret's arm, what does Mary do? Hollers for her servants. The woman is unable to do a thing for herself or anybody else. What kind of queen is this?

The most enjoyable parts for me were when the Lord Bothwell came to her "prison" in England disguised as a peddler in order to um.. "ravish" her so to speak. I found that amusing.

I preferred Mary Queen of Scotland & The Isles: A Novel despite its inability to end. Whereas most readers prefer historical accuracy in their historical fiction novels, I respect that an author needs room elaborate on little known information to make a story interesting. I would like to see MORE liberties taken on this subject. If anybody out there decides to put this woman in a kilt and figuratively speaking, give her some balls, I will be glad to read it. Meanwhile, this is my fourth and my last Mary Queen of Scots book because I have grown weary of simpering women that do nothing buy dresses from dwindling treasuries. (less)

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Mar 16, 2011 Joey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, 2011, scotland

2.5 stars: I knew going into this that Carolly Erickson isn't exactly known for staying true to facts. She calls her books "historical entertainment" and tends to make up a lot of the characters and their interactions, along with messing around with the dates and time lines or making up events altogether. For example, in this particular book, she invented a secret daughter for Mary, made up the majority of interactions between Mary and Bothwell (considering he was actually imprisoned for much of...more

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Jun 24, 2011 Orsolya rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: library, queens, historical-fiction

Mary Stuart's life is fantastical enough without needed to up it's entertainment value. However, of course Carolly Erickson went at it again, adding drama, events, and made-up storylines. Now this is fine by me, as it is her writing style. Who am I to judge? My only qualm is that sometimes it is TOO unebelivable and reads like a romance novel.

The major "ugh" plotline in this novel is the effect of creating Bothwell's chracterization as one of a lovable, tender man who is Mary's true love. Excuse...more

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Mar 26, 2011 Jean Marie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction-tudor-dynasty

It's really like 3.5 Stars.

Mary, Queen of Scots is one of the most memorable characters in history. Her story is incredible. Not only her Hollywood styled love life is interesting but also her Soap Opera esque career as a monarch. Born as the Queen of Scots when only a few days old, married to the Dauphin of France, widowed as Queen of France before she was twenty, only to return to a chaotic homeland that, after two contraversial marriages, dethroned her, sending her for shelter under her cous...more It's really like 3.5 Stars.

Mary, Queen of Scots is one of the most memorable characters in history. Her story is incredible. Not only her Hollywood styled love life is interesting but also her Soap Opera esque career as a monarch. Born as the Queen of Scots when only a few days old, married to the Dauphin of France, widowed as Queen of France before she was twenty, only to return to a chaotic homeland that, after two contraversial marriages, dethroned her, sending her for shelter under her cousin, Elizabeth. This is the kind of stuff movies are made after.

This is my third Carolly Erickson book so I'm well aware of her style of heavy on the fiction intertwined with the history. This book, sort of like the last one of her's I read (The Tsarina's Daughter), plays heavily on rewriting some of the history though unlike the Tsarina's Daughter this one doesn't alter history at all. The ending still happens. Mary still is executed after Elizabeth finally gave the order. But what Erickson does is paints a more fascinating idea of what history only knows as Mary's imprisonment. What if she got out, what if she was able to attempt a coup, what if she was eventually recaptured by Elizabeth? Erickson, without changing the end product of Mary's life is able to do this seamlessly, which is something I've come to love about her stories. She knows the history behind each of her characters but also is creative enough to change the shades of light on them to make a story more interesting.

What I love about historical fiction is that it makes me research the people involved, and I think Erickson is a master at that: making me compare her stories with what really happened.

I only gave this book three stars mainly because I felt for the first time that Erickson's writing was a little messy in spots. She lost some of her flow and clarity in little sections of the novel, really just a sentence here or there but it was enough to irk me into remembering it. But this still doesn't take away from what I liked about the book. I loved her use of Bothwell as a champion for Mary without losing his famous temper, especially. He's always painted as a bad guy in so many novels about Mary that I feel like he gets a bad reputation.

So while I don't think this was Erickson's best novel, it was by no means bad. It's still entertaining and fun, quick read, and I definitely recommend it to others who enjoy this historical fiction with a little twist. (less)

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Dec 06, 2011 Carole Rae rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: historical fiction lovers

Where to begin?
I simply adore Carolly Erickson and her novels. I've read a good chunk of her novels and I've enjoyed all of them! I especially loved The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette. When I seen that she wrote a novel about Queen Mary of the Scots, I couldn't WAIT to read it! Even though Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I are my favorites, I still love Mary. Yes...I'll admit it...I had high expectations and this book went flat with me.
I wish I could say that I "loved" this book as much as Carolly...more Where to begin?
I simply adore Carolly Erickson and her novels. I've read a good chunk of her novels and I've enjoyed all of them! I especially loved The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette. When I seen that she wrote a novel about Queen Mary of the Scots, I couldn't WAIT to read it! Even though Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I are my favorites, I still love Mary. Yes...I'll admit it...I had high expectations and this book went flat with me.
I wish I could say that I "loved" this book as much as Carolly Erickson's other books, but I didn't. I didn't like it and I wished I never read it. Is that bad to say? I hated how Carolly Erickson presented Queen Mary. She presented her as a lovesick puppy, weak, whiney, and not a queen I would want to rule my country. I also felt VERY distant with Mary...it didn't feel like a "diary" or a "memoir"; like it should have felt like.
IT IS a historical fiction and authors always put their own spin on the historical facts. And yes, Carolly Erickson was in all rights to put some twists and turns in Queen Mary's life, BUT some points in the story were in left field. Throughout the novel, I couldn't help but roll my eyes and chuckle. I did love the fact that she had Jamie (one of Mary's husbands) be a lovable hero, instead of the monster they make him out to be on many other books and movies. There were others historical twists/reinventions I liked and some I couldn't help but laugh at.
I'm not sure what else to say...I didn't like this book at all. I could barely finish it. I still love Carolly Erickson and I plan to read her other novels, but if I could....I would not read this. This was a disappointment. However, I found it an interesting twist on Mary's story! Perhaps this wasn't my cup pf tea, but I don't let my negative views sway you away from this novel. Perhaps you'll love it! I recommend this to historical fiction lovers and for those that like a good shake-up on historical facts. I hate to do this buuuuut, I grant this one 1 star. =( The only things that saved this novel was the character Jamie and some historical reinventions that made me smile.

Favorite Character(s): Ummmm, Jamie and Grandmamma.
Not-So Favorite Character(s): This version of Mary (I usually adore her, but...no)
(less)

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Nov 19, 2009 Julie Allison rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Historical fiction is interesting because the basis is history; the fiction is how that history happened that way, the personalities, the conversations, etc. This novel takes great liberties with history. In this version, Mary has a secret daughter; while under house arrest in England, she manages to escape to Rome and a French farm where her secret daughter lives. That's just not plausible.

This queen is fascinating-- she was married three times, widowed twice, and Husband #3, the Earl of Bothw...more

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Jun 07, 2010 Marita rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

Had I checked Goodreads reviews first I might have given this book a pass... but it really was not that bad, just your usual unbelievable fiction. Nothing like Pennman or Weir that is for sure! I am quite a Elisabeth I fan so it was good for my brain to read - OK I listened to this one too- the other side so to speak. I also used to get all the Marys and other beheaded ladies mixed up, so this one got me straightened out. I do not think I'll have much trouble now... I appreciate that this one wa...more

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Jan 20, 2011 Kristy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own, historical

This is the second book I have read by this author; I really like her style of writing historical FICTION. It flows and is easy to read. The story is easy to grasp, only sometimes it's hard to tell if 10 days or 10 years have past.... I think she could do a little better on that part. I have seen mixed reviews on this one; most of the complaints come in the form that it is not historically correct. For me though, I really don't know that much about Mary, Queen of Scotts (embarrassing, get to stu...more

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Oct 28, 2010 Tamra rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

I thought I would hate this book, (so why did I bother to read it? I still don't know, maybe trying to widen my narrow opinions). It wasn't too bad, in fact it held my interest. I had no idea how much I didn't know about Mary Queen of Scots, so it was very interesting. But, here's the thing, until I did research after reading the book I realized there was too much false info in the book. Now that I know that, I would probably encourage you to read a more accurate novel. Between reading the book...more

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Jan 22, 2010 Lois Clark-Johnston rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: all-things-tudor, books-i-read-in-2010, historical-fiction

The first half was good, the second half just strayed too far from reality, with Mary having a daughter Marie-Elizabeth by Bothwell born during her captivity before she escaped Scotland.
Has a highly suspect meeting in a healing bath between Mary and Queen Elizabeth at which time Elizabeth confides that can not have children and does not like children.
Mary is regularly visited by Bothwell during her English captivity as Bothwell disguises himself as a traveling merchant.
The final straw for me ha...more

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Apr 24, 2013 Katherine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Never read anything by Erickson before though there are several on my to read list. Hopefully, the others will be more engaging. Described as an entertainment rather than historical fiction the reader should bear in mind that it is truly a piece of cotton candy--sweet but full of air and easily deflated. Found myself saying, over and over, but that isn't true. Found it very distracting, the conflicts between what I've learned of this situation and the picture drawn here. If you can get beyond th...more

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May 30, 2012 Frances rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Starts great but midway, it turns from historical fiction to historical fantasy. I appreciate any historical fiction that takes some licenses and rewrites history...as long as its entertaining. Unfortunately the latter part of this book goes so far that you will actually say "You kidding me right?!". It is a shame since I am a big fangirl for these types of books and if you got ME saying your book only deserves two stars, in reality it is probably a bad book.

It was entertaining but if I had the...more

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Jun 02, 2012 Jinny (SkyInk.net) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical, tudor-england, royalty

3.5 stars

I’ve always had an interest in historical royalty, and lately I have been filling my bookshelves with historical fiction novels that deal with queens and princesses and such (mostly more Erickson works, and Philippa Gregory as well). I actually did not really know much about Mary, Queen of Scots, prior to reading this book. I have come to really fall in love with her tragic tale. Perhaps it was the way it was portrayed in this book, but I really sympathized for Mary and felt bad that sh...more 3.5 stars

I’ve always had an interest in historical royalty, and lately I have been filling my bookshelves with historical fiction novels that deal with queens and princesses and such (mostly more Erickson works, and Philippa Gregory as well). I actually did not really know much about Mary, Queen of Scots, prior to reading this book. I have come to really fall in love with her tragic tale. Perhaps it was the way it was portrayed in this book, but I really sympathized for Mary and felt bad that she was the victim of so much unfortunate luck.

If you know a little about Queen Mary’s real life, then the plot of this story shouldn’t be too surprising to you, though there are, of course, some creative liberties taken and some completely fictional elements added to it (elements that I did not know never occurred to the real Mary until I looked up the facts later). Mary became Queen of Scotland at a mere six days old. She was married to King Francis of France when she was fifteen (and he, younger) but he died shortly. Unfamiliar with Scottish politics, Mary returned to Scotland eager to rule her realm, but due to her upbringing in France and her religion that clashes with those of her people, she finds herself facing many obstacles. She finds she must flee Scotland and looks for safety in England, with her cousin Queen Elizabeth. However, she is not safe even there as the Queen fears Mary will take her throne — and indeed, it is said Mary has a better claim to the English throne than Elizabeth — and so Mary is imprisoned for years until she manages to escape and attempts to fight for her right as a Queen.

Like I mentioned earlier, I knew pretty much nothing about Queen Mary going into this book, and I’m delighted that it has sparked not only a genuine interest in the life of Queen Mary and all the mysteries, scandals and modern day theories that go along with her, but also a renewed interest in history itself. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and I liked this portrayal of Queen Mary, a kind girl/woman who has been Queen all her life and does not want to settle for less. I am aware that there are some completely made up parts to the story that I suppose a historical purist will frown upon, but I’m the type of person who isn’t too concerned about factual stuff in this genre of books (I mean, that’s why it’s fiction!) and I personally enjoyed it, though I do admit some parts were a little hard to believe (for example, one of her fictional escapes from imprisonment was done a little easily, among other events. Another thing that I admit bugged me a little was the inclusion of her fictional daughter, who never existed in real life. That’s kind of a big thing to make up, and it had little impact on the story in the end, so it felt kind of pointless).

On that topic, some parts of Mary’s personality did irk me. I wasn’t sure if it was just an inconsistent character, or some sort of naivety on her part, but it was really bizarre to me how she sought protection from her cousin Queen Elizabeth, yet at the same time, would openly say to others that she is the rightful Queen to the English throne and that Elizabeth really isn’t a Queen at all. I mean … that’s kind of a dumb thing to say to about the person you wish to protect you, right? However, I suppose it just goes to show how sure of her rights as a queen she is, though I still think it’s foolish to proclaim yourself the rightful ruler of a throne whose current ruler you seek help from, while you are in their country as well.

Regardless if you’re into historical fiction or not, I think this book is an enjoyable and fun read. Mary’s life already lends itself to a fascinating story, and easily lures readers into wanting to discover more about this tragic queen.(less)

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Apr 10, 2011 Styler Ribarovic rated it 2 of 5 stars

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

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Sep 29, 2010 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-book, historical-fiction, france, library-book, scotland, 16th-c, mary-queen-of-scots

I have had a couple Carolly Erickson novels on my shelf for over a year and just never had the time to pick them up – I have also heard many mixed reviews, which could be another reason why I sort of shied away. But while walking through my new library, I saw this on the audio book shelf and decided that now was as good a time as any.

I have mixed feelings about this book. To start off with the good – it was a very dramatic, attention holding story. From beginning to end there was something going...more I have had a couple Carolly Erickson novels on my shelf for over a year and just never had the time to pick them up – I have also heard many mixed reviews, which could be another reason why I sort of shied away. But while walking through my new library, I saw this on the audio book shelf and decided that now was as good a time as any.

I have mixed feelings about this book. To start off with the good – it was a very dramatic, attention holding story. From beginning to end there was something going on and I never felt like I was left waiting for something more. With this being a first person narrator driven story, I was very happy to not be left with constant description and limited action. There were also some very helpful date references – without it feeling too diary like – that really helped set the time period for me.

Now for the “I wouldn’t exactly classify it as bad, but not great” – this was a very, very fictionalized retelling of her story. While that is not a bad thing – because this is historical fiction and there was an author note at the end (more on that later) – it seemed unbelievable at times. It is commonly told that Mary was wed to Lord Bothwell (her third husband) by force after he took her hostage and possibly raped her. That is not at all how this happened in this memoir. While not giving anything away, Erickson dramatically changed the character of dear “Jamie” Bothwell, which really changed the whole life story of Mary. These changes would have gone over with me better if Mary was more convincing in her reasoning for the decisions she makes. The character felt very wishy-washy to me. Now in regard to the Author’s Note – I usually want the author to provide some sort of insight into radical changes they made or explain something further (an author with a great hand at composing author notes is Bernard Cornwell!). This authors note was probably around 4 sentences basically saying that she fictionalized many details for the purpose of the story to be told – but didn’t go into any details. I would have liked more.

Overall, if you put the history into the background and just follow the story, it is pretty good. I did find myself enjoying the Bothwell/Mary story. If you are a hard stickler for historical accuracy, I would skip this one. I am very glad I chose this on audio book rather than in hard copy.

3.5 out of 5 stars.
(less)

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Nov 22, 2009 Jennifer Kenney rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Having read most of Carolly Erickson's historical fiction this novel wasn't my favorite, but I did enjoy it! I really enjoy the way Erickson writes as she guesses how the real-life character might have thought and felt.

The first few pages of this novel cover the beheading of Mary Queen of Scots and then revert back to the beginning of her life as she marries the dauphin of France. With each chapter you meet her enemies and supporters, you meet her husbands (most she didn't love, and the love of...more

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May 18, 2011 Dawn rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

I think most of the other reviews hit on exactly how I felt about this book, and more and more about this author. I stalled about half way through (just like with Marie Antoinette) and just glanced at the ending (I half expected her to suggest Mary dreamt it all or something). The author is truthful in that she takes her liberties and really screws up the real thing. Mary was such an interesting person and her story is enough on it's own. This portrait was REALLY too far "out there" for me to en...more

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Aug 18, 2011 Casey rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

While this wasn't one of my favorite books, I'm still a huge fan of Carolly Erickson and I typically enjoy reading her books. Now, if you want something with more historical accuracy, this may not be the book for you. I love historical fiction and I tend to be more forgiving when writers take liberties with certain facts. I've read some of the other reviews complaining about the lack of historical accuracy in the book, but that doesn't really bother me. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion...more

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Nov 01, 2010 Meg - A Bookish Affair rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, chick-lit, historical-fiction, fiction, europe

I liked this book. Mary, Queen of Scots is another historical personality that I didn't know a lot about. I found her story very interesting and a little sad. She spent much of her reign being chased away by other parties. As queen of France, her husband's mother chases her out of the country after his death. She is chased out of Scotland by angry parties unhappy with her Catholic rule. She is eventually put to death by Queen Elizabeth I of England (also her cousin) who also doesn't like her rul...more

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Jun 05, 2012 Janet rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was okay. But like the other book by Erickson that I read, Rival to the Queen, how time progressed in this book confused me. Years were spanned in a single sentence. I never knew what year it was, how long something took, etc. That annoyed me.

This book did make me want to learn more about Mary Queen of Scots, which is good. It was a quick read, perfect for reading during jury duty. But it wasn't my favorite historical fiction book.

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Mar 11, 2010 Holly rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a book I was really looking forward to - I love historical fiction, biographies, all that kind of stuff. It started off well, but it got bogged down and boring till I skimmed the last 50 pages. It seemed like she made stupid decisions about a lot of things because the reasonings were not well explained. The first person writing was pretty good until about 2/3 of the way in as I said. Started well, ended way too late.

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Sep 10, 2012 Pattyrflg rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Audio book

I knew very little about Mary’s life and thought this would be an interesting historical fiction. According to the author, it is historical entertainment. This was explained after I had listened to the book and characters and situations the author conjectured and fabricated were also enumerated. This book portrays Mary as very self-absorbed and determined in her rights as a woman of royal birth.
I enjoyed it, I just wish it had been closer to the real truth instead of the author's conj...more

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Oct 07, 2010 Mindi rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I liked getting a glimpse of her life-even as fictional as this book may have been but I found myself getting frustrated in her desperation to have her royal rights. Why would anyone want to be king or queen?? You never feel safe and you are never free! From what little I know of royalty and how it affected women specifically, it sounds like you'd be better off being a peasant or farmer!

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Mar 06, 2011 Miranda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

I was excited to read an account from the point of view of Mary, Queen of Scots. She has been referenced many times in other historical fiction books I've read but this was the first time she was the main character. An easy read, and seemingly well-researched for the time period, I still didn't find myself drawn in but I also wanted to keep reading to the end...so it earns 3/5.

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Dec 24, 2012 George Ilsley rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

Somewhat of a mediocre achievement. The least believable scene was where Mary asked Lord Darnley to marry her, and then realizes she had not thought of any of the details regarding who will be entitled to rule. This from someone who had already married a king and in a setting where marriage is always about power. Not much here for someone with an interest in the period, although it could serve as a slightly informative introduction.

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About Carolly Erickson

Distinguished historian Carolly Erickson is the author of The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette, The First Elizabeth, Great Catherine, Alexandra and many other prize-winning works of fiction and nonfiction. She lives in Hawaii.

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