David Rizzio and Mary, Queen of Scots

by David Tweedie

David Rizzio came to Scotland from Italy in 1561. He quickly rose to power and became secretary to Queen Mary. He exerted considerable influence and was perceived to be a threat to English interests by Sir William Cecil. On the evening of the March 9, 1566 he was murdered by her jealous husband Lord Darnley and others.

Genres: History

222 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2007

Reviews

[Asma Almahdi · Rating 5 out of 5]

so much saddness in history, i read alot about david rizzio and the fact that he was murdered in front of his queen, treason by her husband and some of her Privy Council traitors, her husband henri stuart as known as lord darnely wanted to accuse her by adultery, They claimed Rizzio was having an affair with Mary and was using this as leverage to gain influence in court. Darnley and the nobles burst in upon the heavily-pregnant Mary as she was having supper with Rizzio and five close friends, including Bothwell. The group dragged Rizzio from the table into the next room and stabbed him 56 times. and this was so sad because he died before her eyes, mary. and that was such a huge treason, can't tell how she felt back then. so sad.

[Gerry Grenfell-Walford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating if a little depressing working through of power-politics in the life of a career politician and at a time of seismic change in Scotland and Europe.
Lots of decent references and evidence on show.
The interpretation was, for me a little skewed. Was Rizzio quite so blindly faithful to his chosen monarch for reasons other than his own material flourishing depended on it? How much was Mary's policy based on national interests and how much was simply her own personal convenience?
I feel that Tweedie at times overstates the case for Mary and Rizzio as Scottish patriots. Their combined defeats for Tweedie inevitably spell the end for Scottish independence and nationhood. They certainly do seem stops on the way to neutering Scotland's autonomy as far as the English crown was concerned, but was this result inevitable?
I'm not convinced.
The protestantism espoused by Knox etc al, was not the Anglican kind, and indeed, doctrinal disputes were to bedevil Anglo-Scottish relationships for centuries (and still do in places of the current 'Union'). I'd be interested if the Protestant 'Lords' saw themselves as English playthings and puppets. Were they thinking ahead to an inevitable creation of a 'Great Britain'?
Again, I'm not convinced.
What does come across well is the deeply ingrained nature of politics and religion at this time in history. Even the reformed zealots apparently seeing no conflict between temporal titles and spiritual purity.
These days the consensus seems to be that Rizzio was homosexual, or at least, bisexual, but these are not explored much in the book. It might be a case of scholarship evolving over the last few years since this book was published.
Anyway, intriguing if not perhaps the last word on the subject.

[Camilla Zamboni · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is quite informative on a topic that is still under researched. I didn't much like the style of the writing, but overall it was easy to read and added lots of detail and complexity to the story of David Rizzio and Mary Queen of the Scots.

[Dave Gilmour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book and I learned a lot about Mary and David which I did not know. Good references

[Antony P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched, thoroughly cited, and an enjoyable read. However, I did find many examples of repetitive phrasing and certain sections redundant.

[Allie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting that the author was apparently related to the two Tweedies caught up in the murder of Rizzio. Maybe he wrote the book because he felt guilty, haha.