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Mary Queen of Scotland and The Isles
She became Queen of Scots when she was only six days old. Life among the warring factions in Scotland was dangerous for the infant Queen, however, and at age five Mary was sent to France to be raised alongside her betrothed, the Dauphin Francois. Surrounded by all the sensual comforts of the French court, Mary's youth was peaceful, charmed, and when she became Queen of France at the age of sixteen, she seemed to have all she could wish for. But by her eighteenth birthday, Mary was a widow who had lost one throne and had been named by the Pope for another. And her extraordinary adventure had only begun. Defying her powerful cousin Elizabeth I, Mary set sail in 1561 to take her place as the Catholic Queen of a newly Protestant Scotland. A virtual stranger in her volatile native land, Mary would be hailed as a saint, denounced as a whore, and ultimately accused of murdering her second husband, Lord Darnley, in order to marry her lover, the Earl of Bothwell. She was but twenty-five years old when she fled Scotland for the imagined sanctuary of Elizabeth's England, where she would be embroiled in intrigue until she was beheaded "like a criminal" in 1587. In her stunning first novel, The Autobiography of Henry VIII, Margaret George established herself as one of the finest historical novelists of our time. Now she brings us a new, mesmerizing blend of history and storytelling as she turns the astonishing facts of the life of Mary Queen of Scots into magnificent fiction that sweeps us from the glittering French court where Mary spent her youth, to the bloodstained Scotland where she reigned as Queen, to the cold English castles where she ended her days. Never before have we been offered such arich and moving portrayal of the Scots Queen, whose beauty inspired poetry, whose spirit brought forth both devotion and hatred, and whose birthright generated glorious dreams, hideous treachery, and murdered men at her feet.
870 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
995 people are currently reading
17551 people want to read
About the author
Margaret George
74 books2,918 followersMargaret George is a rolling stone who has lived in many places, beginning her traveling at the age of four when her father joined the U.S. diplomatic service and was posted to a consulate in Taiwan. The family traveled on a freighter named after Ulysses' son Telemachus that took thirty days to reach Taiwan, where they spent two years. Following that they lived in Tel Aviv (right after the 1948 war, when it was relatively quiet), Bonn and Berlin (during the spy-and-Cold-War days) before returning--at the height of Elvis-mania--to Washington DC, where Margaret went to high school. Margaret's first piece of published writing, at the age of thirteen, was a letter to TIME Magazine defending Elvis against his detractors. (Margaret has since been to Graceland.)
But it was earlier in Israel that Margaret, an avid reader, began writing novels to amuse herself when she ran out of books to read. Interestingly, the subject of these was not what lay around her in the Middle East, but the American west, which she had never set foot in. (Now that she lives in the American Midwest she writes about the Middle East!) Clearly writing in her case followed Emily Dickinson's observation "There is no frigate like a book" and she used it to go to faraway places. Now she has added another dimension to that travel by specializing in visiting times remote from herself.
Neither of these horse sagas got published, but the ten-year-old author received an encouraging note from an editor at Grosset & Dunlap, telling her she had a budding talent but should work on her spelling.
It was also in Israel that Margaret started keeping land tortoises as pets, an interest which she still follows today. She had a great affinity for animals and nature and that led her to a double major at Tufts University in English literature and biology. Following that she received an MA in ecology from Stanford University--one of the earliest departments to offer such a concentration. Today she is active in environmental and animal conservation groups.
Combining her interests led her to a position as a science writer at the National Cancer Institute (National Institutes of Health) in Bethesda, Maryland for four years.
Her marriage at the end of that time meant moving, first to St. Louis, then to Uppsala, Sweden, and then to Madison, Wisconsin, where she and her husband Paul have lived for more than twenty years now. They have one grown daughter who lives in California and is in graduate school.
Through all this Margaret continued to write, albeit slowly and always on only one project at a time. She wrote what she refers to as her 'Ayn Rand/adventure novel' in college and her 'Sex and the City' novel in Washington DC. It was in St. Louis that she suddenly got the idea of writing a 'psycho-biography' of Henry VIII. She had never seen such a thing done but became convinced the king was a victim of bad PR and she should rescue his good name. Her background in science meant that only after thoroughly researching the literature and scholarship on Henry VIII would she embark on the novel itself. She sought the guidance of a Tudor historian at Washington University for a reading list, and proceeded from there.
It was actually fourteen years between her initial idea and the publication of The Autobiography of Henry VIII. The book made an impression for several reasons: first, because no one had ever written a novel sympathetic to the king before; second, because it covered his entire life from before birth until after his death, making it almost a thousand pages long, and third, because it was so fact-filled.
But it was earlier in Israel that Margaret, an avid reader, began writing novels to amuse herself when she ran out of books to read. Interestingly, the subject of these was not what lay around her in the Middle East, but the American west, which she had never set foot in. (Now that she lives in the American Midwest she writes about the Middle East!) Clearly writing in her case followed Emily Dickinson's observation "There is no frigate like a book" and she used it to go to faraway places. Now she has added another dimension to that travel by specializing in visiting times remote from herself.
Neither of these horse sagas got published, but the ten-year-old author received an encouraging note from an editor at Grosset & Dunlap, telling her she had a budding talent but should work on her spelling.
It was also in Israel that Margaret started keeping land tortoises as pets, an interest which she still follows today. She had a great affinity for animals and nature and that led her to a double major at Tufts University in English literature and biology. Following that she received an MA in ecology from Stanford University--one of the earliest departments to offer such a concentration. Today she is active in environmental and animal conservation groups.
Combining her interests led her to a position as a science writer at the National Cancer Institute (National Institutes of Health) in Bethesda, Maryland for four years.
Her marriage at the end of that time meant moving, first to St. Louis, then to Uppsala, Sweden, and then to Madison, Wisconsin, where she and her husband Paul have lived for more than twenty years now. They have one grown daughter who lives in California and is in graduate school.
Through all this Margaret continued to write, albeit slowly and always on only one project at a time. She wrote what she refers to as her 'Ayn Rand/adventure novel' in college and her 'Sex and the City' novel in Washington DC. It was in St. Louis that she suddenly got the idea of writing a 'psycho-biography' of Henry VIII. She had never seen such a thing done but became convinced the king was a victim of bad PR and she should rescue his good name. Her background in science meant that only after thoroughly researching the literature and scholarship on Henry VIII would she embark on the novel itself. She sought the guidance of a Tudor historian at Washington University for a reading list, and proceeded from there.
It was actually fourteen years between her initial idea and the publication of The Autobiography of Henry VIII. The book made an impression for several reasons: first, because no one had ever written a novel sympathetic to the king before; second, because it covered his entire life from before birth until after his death, making it almost a thousand pages long, and third, because it was so fact-filled.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 693 reviews
September 15, 2016
I was 17 years old with an honor student's workload. For some reason I decided to take on an 870 page epic. Even for someone who likes to read, any Margaret George book takes real commitment. For most people that commitment becomes effortless and will last a lifetime.
Something happened when I first read this novel. I was lost in it. I devoured it. It's haunted me ever since. I read it again every few years, and visit it like an old friend. The characters are dynamic, genuine, and tortured (sometimes literally). The subject matter itself is profound, outlining events that helped shape the modern world. And Mary? This book gave me an intimate, private tunnel directly into the mind of one of the most fascinating women in history.
What makes this book so special? The same qualities that make all of George's writing incomparable: her dedication to research combined with her ability to infuse life into facts. Where most historical fiction writers fall back on anachronistic bodices and generic corsets, George evokes the swish and rustle of period silks and brocades. Many writers bog down their work with such painstaking detail, forcing the story to fit the facts. George's unique gift is creating a story in which facts are the skeleton and the accessories, while the story, characters, and plot are the muscle and guts, fleshing out everything in between.
Brava, Mrs. George.
Something happened when I first read this novel. I was lost in it. I devoured it. It's haunted me ever since. I read it again every few years, and visit it like an old friend. The characters are dynamic, genuine, and tortured (sometimes literally). The subject matter itself is profound, outlining events that helped shape the modern world. And Mary? This book gave me an intimate, private tunnel directly into the mind of one of the most fascinating women in history.
What makes this book so special? The same qualities that make all of George's writing incomparable: her dedication to research combined with her ability to infuse life into facts. Where most historical fiction writers fall back on anachronistic bodices and generic corsets, George evokes the swish and rustle of period silks and brocades. Many writers bog down their work with such painstaking detail, forcing the story to fit the facts. George's unique gift is creating a story in which facts are the skeleton and the accessories, while the story, characters, and plot are the muscle and guts, fleshing out everything in between.
Brava, Mrs. George.
February 14, 2021
“A second of carelessness can cause a lifetime of regret.”
This is the second novel of Margaret George’s that I have read, and I have others on my “to read” pile. “Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles” is not a brilliant text, but it is a solid one. This long book follows the life of Queen Mary from birth to death, and is presented from a 3rd person narrator who spends most of the text in Mary’s head. However, Ms. George does change it up from time to time and we get occasional chapters from other perspectives. This was a good choice as it enhances the story and fills out the whole picture, and also gives a clearer insight into the character of Mary.
Like many who write historical fiction, George seems to write as much “plausible fiction” as possible, but there are more than few times in this book where the speculative parts seems more than a little gratuitous to me, and I could not figure out the point of including them. The other issue I had with the text is that for a bit in Part III it seems to run out of steam. It is the weakest part of the text, as there is a lot of telling, not a lot of showing. George tries to cover some rather uneventful years in Mary’s life quickly, I get it, I just don’t think she was as successful as she normally is in conveying it.
However, by and large the novel is a very good one, and there are moments that are structured brilliantly. I did not know a lot of details of Mary’s life, and there was a pivotal (and unexpected) moment in Mary’s reign that George awesomely renders, as it sets Mary up on a collision course with history.
As seems to be par for the course with George, it is her ability to capture fully dimensional protagonists that is this novel’s main strength. One exceptionally good instance of this begins on page 561 where the writing is so introspective and acute that George’s skill at capturing the internal character of people cannot be denied. Another strong moment appears in chapter 7 of Part III where Mary writes a journal entry where she examines her relationship with God. It is an achingly accurate appraisal of one’s relationship with their Creator, and I felt like an intruder on a personal moment as I read it. Mary reflects on her relationship with God while examining her prayer life and it is nothing short of profound.
As I read I was curious how George would end this book, and the novel’s final chapter is a perfect and clever ending to this monumental text. I was not disappointed.
The life of Mary Queen of Scots was one ripe for a novelist to take on. Margaret George was up to the task.
This is the second novel of Margaret George’s that I have read, and I have others on my “to read” pile. “Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles” is not a brilliant text, but it is a solid one. This long book follows the life of Queen Mary from birth to death, and is presented from a 3rd person narrator who spends most of the text in Mary’s head. However, Ms. George does change it up from time to time and we get occasional chapters from other perspectives. This was a good choice as it enhances the story and fills out the whole picture, and also gives a clearer insight into the character of Mary.
Like many who write historical fiction, George seems to write as much “plausible fiction” as possible, but there are more than few times in this book where the speculative parts seems more than a little gratuitous to me, and I could not figure out the point of including them. The other issue I had with the text is that for a bit in Part III it seems to run out of steam. It is the weakest part of the text, as there is a lot of telling, not a lot of showing. George tries to cover some rather uneventful years in Mary’s life quickly, I get it, I just don’t think she was as successful as she normally is in conveying it.
However, by and large the novel is a very good one, and there are moments that are structured brilliantly. I did not know a lot of details of Mary’s life, and there was a pivotal (and unexpected) moment in Mary’s reign that George awesomely renders, as it sets Mary up on a collision course with history.
As seems to be par for the course with George, it is her ability to capture fully dimensional protagonists that is this novel’s main strength. One exceptionally good instance of this begins on page 561 where the writing is so introspective and acute that George’s skill at capturing the internal character of people cannot be denied. Another strong moment appears in chapter 7 of Part III where Mary writes a journal entry where she examines her relationship with God. It is an achingly accurate appraisal of one’s relationship with their Creator, and I felt like an intruder on a personal moment as I read it. Mary reflects on her relationship with God while examining her prayer life and it is nothing short of profound.
As I read I was curious how George would end this book, and the novel’s final chapter is a perfect and clever ending to this monumental text. I was not disappointed.
The life of Mary Queen of Scots was one ripe for a novelist to take on. Margaret George was up to the task.
December 19, 2019
It took almost a year because other books got in the way. Now I am finally done.
This was a wonderfully written piece of historical fiction about one of the most misunderstood monarchs of Scotland.
When you get started on this, make sure that other books don’t get in the way. It is a chunkster that requires time to complete and savour. I’m glad I took the time to finish this one.
This was a wonderfully written piece of historical fiction about one of the most misunderstood monarchs of Scotland.
When you get started on this, make sure that other books don’t get in the way. It is a chunkster that requires time to complete and savour. I’m glad I took the time to finish this one.
January 26, 2024
A futile life and, ultimately, a meaningless death!
A biographical novel re-creating the entire forty-five year life of a monarch such as Mary Queen of Scots embellished and fleshed out with fictional anecdotes and details to bring an enormous cast of characters to life cannot help but be long in the telling. Any lover of books knows that long need not of necessity be tedious but even George's first-rate story telling abilities could not rescue this novel from the gray, incessant boredom fostered by the astounding futility of Mary's birth, life, actions, decisions and even her death. During her imprisonment and separation from Bothwell, Mary summarized her own life very succinctly in a few desperate sentences:
"I have nothing, she thought. I have been Queen for four and twenty years, but if I died in my sleep this very night, there would be nothing to write of me in the chronicles. I was Queen of France for a year and a half, but when Francois died, all that passed away, and today France remembers me not. I have reigned directly here in Scotland for six years now, and although there has been no foreign war, the nobles never made peace amongst themselves. My whole reign has been a series of plots, followed by my pardons. My marriages have all failed in one way or another. I have not succeeded in being recognized by Elizabeth as her successor. The Catholics abroad have turned against me because I was not severe enough with the heretics in Scotland, the heretics in Scotland hate me because I am a Catholic at all. I have failed."
If one of the reasons for historical knowledge is awareness of past errors so our descendants might learn to avoid the same mistakes, then, at least for me, Margaret George succeeded by penning a book that is a scathing condemnation of the hypocrisies and astonishing arrogance of any individual or family believing that they are anointed of God to be a ruling family. I believe it is hardly an over-statement to suggest that hereditary monarchy as an institution is illustrated by George as inherently flawed, at best, and evil, at worst. In either case, it has no place in a twenty-first century modern society.
Similarly, George pulls no punches in pointing out the lack of tolerance of one established religion for all others. While we have made strides in allowing for the co-existence of multiple religions in a modern world, this 16th century novel gives us a chilling reminder that we still have a great distance to travel. To her credit, I would find it impossible as a result of her writing to guess what faith George herself might profess.
Hardly a thrilling page turner but a book well worth the effort to read!
Paul Weiss
A biographical novel re-creating the entire forty-five year life of a monarch such as Mary Queen of Scots embellished and fleshed out with fictional anecdotes and details to bring an enormous cast of characters to life cannot help but be long in the telling. Any lover of books knows that long need not of necessity be tedious but even George's first-rate story telling abilities could not rescue this novel from the gray, incessant boredom fostered by the astounding futility of Mary's birth, life, actions, decisions and even her death. During her imprisonment and separation from Bothwell, Mary summarized her own life very succinctly in a few desperate sentences:
"I have nothing, she thought. I have been Queen for four and twenty years, but if I died in my sleep this very night, there would be nothing to write of me in the chronicles. I was Queen of France for a year and a half, but when Francois died, all that passed away, and today France remembers me not. I have reigned directly here in Scotland for six years now, and although there has been no foreign war, the nobles never made peace amongst themselves. My whole reign has been a series of plots, followed by my pardons. My marriages have all failed in one way or another. I have not succeeded in being recognized by Elizabeth as her successor. The Catholics abroad have turned against me because I was not severe enough with the heretics in Scotland, the heretics in Scotland hate me because I am a Catholic at all. I have failed."
If one of the reasons for historical knowledge is awareness of past errors so our descendants might learn to avoid the same mistakes, then, at least for me, Margaret George succeeded by penning a book that is a scathing condemnation of the hypocrisies and astonishing arrogance of any individual or family believing that they are anointed of God to be a ruling family. I believe it is hardly an over-statement to suggest that hereditary monarchy as an institution is illustrated by George as inherently flawed, at best, and evil, at worst. In either case, it has no place in a twenty-first century modern society.
Similarly, George pulls no punches in pointing out the lack of tolerance of one established religion for all others. While we have made strides in allowing for the co-existence of multiple religions in a modern world, this 16th century novel gives us a chilling reminder that we still have a great distance to travel. To her credit, I would find it impossible as a result of her writing to guess what faith George herself might profess.
Hardly a thrilling page turner but a book well worth the effort to read!
Paul Weiss
December 9, 2023
Mary, Queen of Scots, was the last Roman Catholic ruler of Scotland.
The tale of this beautiful woman, is one of the great tragedies of British history.
Margaret George, in this long book, brings Mary, and the Scotland, France and England of her time to life.
A sympathetic, but not idealistic portrayal of Mary as a woman who was warmhearted , loyal, brave, generous and spirited, but also unable to read character,volatile and impulsive.
The book takes us from Mary's birth, and her coronation as Queen of Scotland, when she was only a week old,she was shipped to France, for her own safety when she was six years old, together with her companions from early childhood , Mary Livingstone, Mary Fleming, Mary Beaton and Mary Seaton (the four Mary's).
Brought up in the French court , she was married to the Dauphin Francois at the age of 15, and widowed two years later.
She returned to Scotland, after the death of her husband , King Francois II, after his mother Catherine De Medici, made it clear she was no longer welcome in France.
Dealing with conniving Lords and officials , she was clearly outmanouvered at every turn. She was married to the worthless coward, Lord Darnley , who led a gang of conspirators ,into the palace and murdered her chief secretary David Riccio.
Later Darnley himself, died in myterious circumstances , for which George, in this volume, absolves Mary of any responsibility.
She then married her lover, the Earl of Bothwell , for which she lost the throne of Scotland. much due to the influence of the fiery Protestant preacher , John Knox, who nursed a vicious hatred of Mary.
She fled to England , where she was imprisoned by Queen Elizabeth I , and after 20 years, was accused of plotting against Elizabeth, and executed.
George takes us through Mary's life with passion and compassion. She gives us the picture through Mary's mind, but we also see the story through the minds of others, such as Lord Darnley, Earl Bothwell and Queen Elizabeth.
George explores the mysteries behind the history , in this well researched, and highly readable historical epic.
We really get to know the essence of Mary, Queen of Scots in this volume.
I particularly liked the end where Mary's spirit journeys after her execution , and see's the reactions to her life and death , and watches her funeral, before her spirit returns to G-D.
It was truly the spirit of a remarkable and tragic woman.
The tale of this beautiful woman, is one of the great tragedies of British history.
Margaret George, in this long book, brings Mary, and the Scotland, France and England of her time to life.
A sympathetic, but not idealistic portrayal of Mary as a woman who was warmhearted , loyal, brave, generous and spirited, but also unable to read character,volatile and impulsive.
The book takes us from Mary's birth, and her coronation as Queen of Scotland, when she was only a week old,she was shipped to France, for her own safety when she was six years old, together with her companions from early childhood , Mary Livingstone, Mary Fleming, Mary Beaton and Mary Seaton (the four Mary's).
Brought up in the French court , she was married to the Dauphin Francois at the age of 15, and widowed two years later.
She returned to Scotland, after the death of her husband , King Francois II, after his mother Catherine De Medici, made it clear she was no longer welcome in France.
Dealing with conniving Lords and officials , she was clearly outmanouvered at every turn. She was married to the worthless coward, Lord Darnley , who led a gang of conspirators ,into the palace and murdered her chief secretary David Riccio.
Later Darnley himself, died in myterious circumstances , for which George, in this volume, absolves Mary of any responsibility.
She then married her lover, the Earl of Bothwell , for which she lost the throne of Scotland. much due to the influence of the fiery Protestant preacher , John Knox, who nursed a vicious hatred of Mary.
She fled to England , where she was imprisoned by Queen Elizabeth I , and after 20 years, was accused of plotting against Elizabeth, and executed.
George takes us through Mary's life with passion and compassion. She gives us the picture through Mary's mind, but we also see the story through the minds of others, such as Lord Darnley, Earl Bothwell and Queen Elizabeth.
George explores the mysteries behind the history , in this well researched, and highly readable historical epic.
We really get to know the essence of Mary, Queen of Scots in this volume.
I particularly liked the end where Mary's spirit journeys after her execution , and see's the reactions to her life and death , and watches her funeral, before her spirit returns to G-D.
It was truly the spirit of a remarkable and tragic woman.
January 12, 2015
Unfortunately, higher-ranking females named Mary didn’t fare quite so well in British history and Mary, Queen of Scots, was no exception. From queen at a few days old, to France, back to Scotland, and then imprisoned and beheaded in England; Margaret George reveals Mary Stuart’s life in, “Mary: Queen of Scotland and the Isles”.
Those readers familiar with George’s novels will find that “Mary” sticks to the usual stylistic format from the author. George begins “Mary” somewhat slowly using a crawling pace to set the scene. This results in some, “As you know, Bob”- style storytelling recalling figures and events instead of truly ‘living’ through them (even though the novel is told in third-person narrative form). This eventually peels away and the pace quickens, somewhat.
One of the main issues with “Mary” is the constant jumping in chronology in the story. In one paragraph, Mary is a certain age and then the next she has suddenly aged. This causes a disjointed plot and a filter barring the reader from truly getting as deep into the plot as possible (George does this in all of her novels, it seems). Similarly, one will find that Mary’s characterization lacks growth or a true reveal of her personal thoughts and actions. Even though Mary is a main character; she almost feels sidelined in the action. No matter how much the reader loves Mary; it is therefore difficult to cheer her on.
Although George does mostly stick to solid historical events; some of the fictionalized moments are so over-the-top that they are rendered unbelievable even within the fictional context and are obviously only there for shock value (i.e. Darnley raping Riccio anally). Simply put, these were basically unnecessary and do not add anything to the story.
On a positive note, “Mary” is very illustrative with scenery depictions sweeping the reader into castles, Scotland, France, etc. Some of the text is on-par with literary fiction and is quite flowery but in the best way possible. This also can be said for some of the other characters whose personalities often times jump off the page.
George’s climatic events in “Mary” begin with the murder of Darnley, proceed to the marriage with Bothwell, Mary’s abdication, and her many imprisonments. Admittedly, George takes some leeway which is not quite historically accurate and follows theatrical strands; but these are actually well-presented and compelling even for staunch history-lovers. “Mary” certainly becomes a better read at this point and much more of a page-turner.
One of the main focuses of “Mary” is on her imprisonment under Elizabeth in England which is presented from the narration of both Elizabeth and Mary. This is complex in that both sides have a voice and yet, this fails to dive deep enough into each viewpoint; making it somewhat superficial. Nevertheless, many figures and characters come in and out; each with strong personalities making it for an exciting read.
The final quarter of the novel sadly feels dragged with too much talking and little happening. It can be assumed that George was attempting to build up to the ill-fated demise of Mary but it failed to illicit such a response. On the other hand, the ending is memorable, crisp, and strongly portrays the beheading of Mary.
“Mary” contains an “Afterword” from the author which discusses some of the historical liberties taken in-depth while also noting valuable resources useful to the reader. It is worth mentioning that “Mary” contains 60 letters/quotes/poems/documents and about 50 are authentic and credited which is quite intense for a HF novel.
Overall, “Mary” has a slow start and is somewhat choppy throughout but George finds her footing and pens a novel on Mary which is less fluffy than usual. “Mary” is a stronger novel than George’s “The Autobiography of Henry VIII” and carries itself in a stronger light. Despite some of misgivings; “Mary” is recommended for those readers interested in the Queen of Scots or England/Scotland during the time of Mary and Queen Elizabeth.
Those readers familiar with George’s novels will find that “Mary” sticks to the usual stylistic format from the author. George begins “Mary” somewhat slowly using a crawling pace to set the scene. This results in some, “As you know, Bob”- style storytelling recalling figures and events instead of truly ‘living’ through them (even though the novel is told in third-person narrative form). This eventually peels away and the pace quickens, somewhat.
One of the main issues with “Mary” is the constant jumping in chronology in the story. In one paragraph, Mary is a certain age and then the next she has suddenly aged. This causes a disjointed plot and a filter barring the reader from truly getting as deep into the plot as possible (George does this in all of her novels, it seems). Similarly, one will find that Mary’s characterization lacks growth or a true reveal of her personal thoughts and actions. Even though Mary is a main character; she almost feels sidelined in the action. No matter how much the reader loves Mary; it is therefore difficult to cheer her on.
Although George does mostly stick to solid historical events; some of the fictionalized moments are so over-the-top that they are rendered unbelievable even within the fictional context and are obviously only there for shock value (i.e. Darnley raping Riccio anally). Simply put, these were basically unnecessary and do not add anything to the story.
On a positive note, “Mary” is very illustrative with scenery depictions sweeping the reader into castles, Scotland, France, etc. Some of the text is on-par with literary fiction and is quite flowery but in the best way possible. This also can be said for some of the other characters whose personalities often times jump off the page.
George’s climatic events in “Mary” begin with the murder of Darnley, proceed to the marriage with Bothwell, Mary’s abdication, and her many imprisonments. Admittedly, George takes some leeway which is not quite historically accurate and follows theatrical strands; but these are actually well-presented and compelling even for staunch history-lovers. “Mary” certainly becomes a better read at this point and much more of a page-turner.
One of the main focuses of “Mary” is on her imprisonment under Elizabeth in England which is presented from the narration of both Elizabeth and Mary. This is complex in that both sides have a voice and yet, this fails to dive deep enough into each viewpoint; making it somewhat superficial. Nevertheless, many figures and characters come in and out; each with strong personalities making it for an exciting read.
The final quarter of the novel sadly feels dragged with too much talking and little happening. It can be assumed that George was attempting to build up to the ill-fated demise of Mary but it failed to illicit such a response. On the other hand, the ending is memorable, crisp, and strongly portrays the beheading of Mary.
“Mary” contains an “Afterword” from the author which discusses some of the historical liberties taken in-depth while also noting valuable resources useful to the reader. It is worth mentioning that “Mary” contains 60 letters/quotes/poems/documents and about 50 are authentic and credited which is quite intense for a HF novel.
Overall, “Mary” has a slow start and is somewhat choppy throughout but George finds her footing and pens a novel on Mary which is less fluffy than usual. “Mary” is a stronger novel than George’s “The Autobiography of Henry VIII” and carries itself in a stronger light. Despite some of misgivings; “Mary” is recommended for those readers interested in the Queen of Scots or England/Scotland during the time of Mary and Queen Elizabeth.
August 21, 2011
Well..... I finally finished it. Whew! 870 pages worth. And, you know... I really got immersed in it. There is a family tree at the beginning as well as a couple of maps of England and Scotland with significant castles and cities noted. I consulted them A LOT as I made my way through Mary's life. The author spares no details - when Mary goes outside or looks out her window or eats a meal, we hear about the flower petals and the birdsong and the scents on the breeze and the texture of the clouds and the different dishes presented at breakfast, dinner and supper and the images on the tapestries and the gleam of the jewelry and the wood grain and the ceiling decorations and so on. The descriptions are beautiful and do help to transport you to another time and culture. And did I mention that it is 870 pages long? So, there were times I admit I felt some tedium. After all, it takes 650 pages to get Mary to 25 years of age. My favorite thing to do while reading this book was to Google the individual castles (and there are a lot of them) that Mary lived in (or hid in or was held prisoner in) as well as the individual people (a surprising number of which have portraits) and often I could go to Google maps and walk the streets of Edinburgh on street view and see things like where her nemesis John Knox lived on the Royal Mile, just up the street from Holyrood Castle, and just down the hill from Edinburgh Castle. Google maps will also allow you to be a tourist if you place the little person icon on the map and blue dots appear, that means someone has taken pix on the ground and uploaded them - it's fantastic! You can visually walk up to the castle, go through the gates, peer closer at the ramparts, the view from the castle walls, and so on. Also, I found Google sites that give you visual tours inside some of the castles so you can see her bedroom and so on. Very cool. Back to the book... I'm sad it's over. It was like a friend. I learned a heck of a lot and it was beautifully written. Just loooooonnnnggg.
January 25, 2012
Margaret George has rescued Mary from the history books and brought her to life as a vibrant, compelling, and astonishingly modern heroine. This Mary talks and thinks like a modern woman, yet her actions are absolutely true to the spirit of the times and the known facts about her life.
Sometimes the language is a bit too modern, as when Mary describes her gorgeous husband Lord Darnley as "looking good enough to eat" during their wedding feast. And the sex scenes leave absolutely nothing to the imagination! Even after Darnley begins to drink too much and make trouble, Mary makes excuses for him, crying in secret and confiding to the reader, "even when I knew the truth -- to my shame and against my will -- I still wanted him. In truth I burned for him." Mary may never have said this, but her actions make it clear how hard it was for her to break with the cruel but very handsome Darnley.
George reveals every detail of Mary's daily life, right down to the perfume she used and her lazy mornings in bed. It's very revealing when Bothwell -- Mary's next husband after Darnley -- comes into her room unannounced one morning and tells her she needs to "get off your backside and rule, lass. The people need a queen, not a sleeping statue!" Mary thinks she is through with love, but Bothwell insists on marrying her to protect her from the plots and treachery of the other nobles -- the ones who murdered Lord Darnley. Much to her own surprise, Mary goes from fearing Bothwell to enjoying his company, sharing his bed willingly and even crying in his arms when he is forced to leave her at the end. "Rough he was, plain talking and without grace -- but true to me, always. And in his own way, tender."
Some reviewers complain that George spends too much time on the sad years of Mary's life -- when she was a prisoner in England, locked up at the command of her "dearest friend" Elizabeth. But the details of her captivity are interesting, and even glamorous -- secret visits from spies, messages written in code. The only good thing to say about Queen Elizabeth is that she never put Mary in a dungeon. Mary describes it as "the most luxurious time of my life -- and the hardest to bear." Given her comfortable apartments, you can see why she sleeps till noon on days when there's really nothing to do. You can also see why she mentions "the mineral baths, the soothing waters that helped me forget" since she really needed relaxation.
Mary was quite modern in some ways. She believed in mineral baths, and also massage, as being good for her health. She loved exercise in the open air, and she mentions several times that "after an open air gallop on horseback, very exhilarating, and a good long dunking in the water, the firm hands of my maids would readily coax the soreness from my muscles. Indeed I often forgot my worries entirely, and slept like a babe."
The final section is not that dull, really. Just more quiet. And Elizabeth, to her credit, seems to have wanted Mary to be as comfortable and well looked after as any prisoner could be. Until she decided to have her executed, that is.
But in the end, what really makes this book so exciting and vibrant is Mary -- passionate, loving, full of warmth and always willing to believe in people. She should have had a much happier life than she did!
Sometimes the language is a bit too modern, as when Mary describes her gorgeous husband Lord Darnley as "looking good enough to eat" during their wedding feast. And the sex scenes leave absolutely nothing to the imagination! Even after Darnley begins to drink too much and make trouble, Mary makes excuses for him, crying in secret and confiding to the reader, "even when I knew the truth -- to my shame and against my will -- I still wanted him. In truth I burned for him." Mary may never have said this, but her actions make it clear how hard it was for her to break with the cruel but very handsome Darnley.
George reveals every detail of Mary's daily life, right down to the perfume she used and her lazy mornings in bed. It's very revealing when Bothwell -- Mary's next husband after Darnley -- comes into her room unannounced one morning and tells her she needs to "get off your backside and rule, lass. The people need a queen, not a sleeping statue!" Mary thinks she is through with love, but Bothwell insists on marrying her to protect her from the plots and treachery of the other nobles -- the ones who murdered Lord Darnley. Much to her own surprise, Mary goes from fearing Bothwell to enjoying his company, sharing his bed willingly and even crying in his arms when he is forced to leave her at the end. "Rough he was, plain talking and without grace -- but true to me, always. And in his own way, tender."
Some reviewers complain that George spends too much time on the sad years of Mary's life -- when she was a prisoner in England, locked up at the command of her "dearest friend" Elizabeth. But the details of her captivity are interesting, and even glamorous -- secret visits from spies, messages written in code. The only good thing to say about Queen Elizabeth is that she never put Mary in a dungeon. Mary describes it as "the most luxurious time of my life -- and the hardest to bear." Given her comfortable apartments, you can see why she sleeps till noon on days when there's really nothing to do. You can also see why she mentions "the mineral baths, the soothing waters that helped me forget" since she really needed relaxation.
Mary was quite modern in some ways. She believed in mineral baths, and also massage, as being good for her health. She loved exercise in the open air, and she mentions several times that "after an open air gallop on horseback, very exhilarating, and a good long dunking in the water, the firm hands of my maids would readily coax the soreness from my muscles. Indeed I often forgot my worries entirely, and slept like a babe."
The final section is not that dull, really. Just more quiet. And Elizabeth, to her credit, seems to have wanted Mary to be as comfortable and well looked after as any prisoner could be. Until she decided to have her executed, that is.
But in the end, what really makes this book so exciting and vibrant is Mary -- passionate, loving, full of warmth and always willing to believe in people. She should have had a much happier life than she did!
September 18, 2024
3.5 stars.
"But if I am gentle, merciful, acting always under the guidance of love, might not they be led back to the truth?"
This was hard to get through because of the sheer length of the book and it's very heavy on the feelings.
We have so many versions of who Mary was,written by people who either loved her or hated her that we don't really know that much about the real her.
To me Mary was a person who was way over her head in the position that she was born into and nobody really prepared her for it.
She was born during a very rough time for Scotland and she wasn't prepared at all for the many,many troubles that she will face.
The war on religion happening during her time on the throne was just pure misfortune for her,especially since she was a catholic queen in a protestant country.
She herself made devastating mistakes that had very big consequences.
This book is a good account of her life but it is too long and it drags a lot.
I do not think it was necessary to have so many pov's,especially people who hated her(exemple:Knox who I couldn't stand to read about let alone read his thoughts).
I liked how the book portrayed Mary but at times she was too stupid and I didn't really like how after she meet Darnley she lost all her brain and only regained it after she started to hate him.
Women don't suddenly lose their capacity to think once they fall in love and get it back once the love is gone.
I think she was at the most happiest when she was in France cause after she returned to Scotland the misfortunes keep piling up.
This book starts when she is at her happiest and after she leaves France we are free falling into sadness.
Even her death was horrible to read about and here the book really made you feel the many years that Mary spent in captivity wondering about her fate.
I can't stand when your enemies come at you through your child,it's something that really makes my skin crawl....the way her enemies made James hate his mother was just too cruel.
In conclusion this is a good book about Mary but it's very depressing and long so read it only if you are a big fan of historical fiction.
"But if I am gentle, merciful, acting always under the guidance of love, might not they be led back to the truth?"
This was hard to get through because of the sheer length of the book and it's very heavy on the feelings.
We have so many versions of who Mary was,written by people who either loved her or hated her that we don't really know that much about the real her.
To me Mary was a person who was way over her head in the position that she was born into and nobody really prepared her for it.
She was born during a very rough time for Scotland and she wasn't prepared at all for the many,many troubles that she will face.
The war on religion happening during her time on the throne was just pure misfortune for her,especially since she was a catholic queen in a protestant country.
She herself made devastating mistakes that had very big consequences.
This book is a good account of her life but it is too long and it drags a lot.
I do not think it was necessary to have so many pov's,especially people who hated her(exemple:Knox who I couldn't stand to read about let alone read his thoughts).
I liked how the book portrayed Mary but at times she was too stupid and I didn't really like how after she meet Darnley she lost all her brain and only regained it after she started to hate him.
Women don't suddenly lose their capacity to think once they fall in love and get it back once the love is gone.
I think she was at the most happiest when she was in France cause after she returned to Scotland the misfortunes keep piling up.
This book starts when she is at her happiest and after she leaves France we are free falling into sadness.
Even her death was horrible to read about and here the book really made you feel the many years that Mary spent in captivity wondering about her fate.
I can't stand when your enemies come at you through your child,it's something that really makes my skin crawl....the way her enemies made James hate his mother was just too cruel.
In conclusion this is a good book about Mary but it's very depressing and long so read it only if you are a big fan of historical fiction.
April 5, 2014
First off, you need to be either in the mood for this book or be very interested in Mary Queen of Scots. If I'd picked this up a year ago, I would have skimmed to the end. I visited Scotland in January and hit pretty much every place that Mary had been. I've never been a fan of Mary, but after standing in the rooms where Riccio was murdered, James was born and where Darnley came to his demise, I was ready to read more on Mary. I first tried "Immortal Queen" but lost interest due to the fluff. I came across Margaret George's version and liked how it was a more mature/realistic version of Mary's life. I downloaded the audio version (due to reading time constraints) and I fully enjoyed it. The author's details of Holyrood, Sterling, Craigmillar and The city of Edinburgh (even John Knox's house) took me right back to my visit. I know that's why I enjoyed this book so much. I didn't learn anything new, nor change my opinion of Mary, but I looked forward to listening to this every day.
November 5, 2008
Only if you are a die-hard Mary fan. In no way am I knocking the author or her research (LOVED the auto-bio of Henry VIII), but I lost interest about 1/3 the way through and only finished it by using it as a book to pass the time on the treadmill with . Maybe it is just me, as I love historical fiction and would typically devour a book like this in no time, particularly anything to do with the Tudors.
I just couldn't get into Mary's trials and tribulations, as I found her to be silly, vapid and not the queen she should have been. Perhaps it was her upbringing in France that set the tone for her future choices. However, as stated previously, the author's writing and research is wonderful, I just didn't find myself interested in this particular slice of history.
I just couldn't get into Mary's trials and tribulations, as I found her to be silly, vapid and not the queen she should have been. Perhaps it was her upbringing in France that set the tone for her future choices. However, as stated previously, the author's writing and research is wonderful, I just didn't find myself interested in this particular slice of history.
July 17, 2009
Ug! I knew it was too good to be true that I should enjoy historical fiction. Remember the old granny in COLD COMFORT FARM that saw something nasty in the woodshed? Well, I know what she saw. She saw page 304 of this damn book! There I was minding my own business halfway thru this not terrible novel when I of a sudden i saw something beyond nasty. I stopped reading just in time but the imagery haunted my eyes the rest of the day. I was completely irritated. Why in the hell would the writer, of no mean talent, ruin (YES, RUIN) a perfectly decent book by turning so, well, NASTY. Jeesh, I'm beyond irritated. I don't even see the point of it. VULGAR, CHEAP, TACKY, LOW CLASS.
September 12, 2014
Only at the end of a life could the pattern be discerned; only then was there a completed weaving to be seen. And hers was this: since the moment of her birth, she had been an inconvenient person, a person who did not fit in, who ruined other people's tidy patterns.
Well written and extremely informative, this was just too long. I would have enjoyed this much more if there were fewer pages of people riding on horses, on their way somewhere. I was also suprised by the romance writing (lots of pulsating and throbbing going on), as there was none of this in Memoirs of Cleopatra.
I came to this book knowing absolutely nothing about Mary, and I found her life very intriguing and extremely sad. Even though this book was not nearly as good as Cleopatra, I still think the author has an amazing ability to show the historical figures as well-rounded people, and downplaying all the drama surrounding their lives. I also loved learning more about Scotland, and how it differed from England at the time. Last but not least the relationship between Mary and Elizabeth as portrayed by MG was absolutely fascinating, and I will be reading more about Elizabeth soon.
So if you are a more patient reader than I, and you have an interest in these types of books, this is for you. I am not giving up on Margaret George as yet, as I still want to try Helen of Troy.
The Story: Mary, Queen of Scotland and the Isles is the story of a woman born to rule a nation - and the glorious pageant of love and tragedy that followed in her wake. A woman accused of murdering her husband to marry her lover. A woman who became Queen six days after her birth in 1542 -- only to be beheaded forty years later on the orders of her cousin, Elizabeth I.
November 23, 2016
Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles is a wonderful Historical novel which captures the essence of Mary and her historical trials and tribulations. After being crowned Queen of Scotland as a baby with her mother as Regent, she was then betrothed to the Dauphin of France and was sent to France to live her betrothed's Family the king and Queen of France. when she was around 18 and Francis I was 17, Francis I ascended to the Throne of France after his father, Henry II was killed while jousting. Mary Was Queen of France and Scotland and had a legitimate claim to the English throne after the death of Mary I (Bloody Mary) of England and Queen Elizabeth I ascended to the throne of England. Elizabeth I was King Henry VIII daughter by Ann Boleyn after Henry's questionable divorce from Catherine of Aragon. When the Pope wouldn't sanction Henry VIII's divorce to Catherine of Aragon, so that he could marry Anne Boleyn. He broke from the Catholic Church and established the Church of England.
the end results was a bloody Religious war in England and Scotland.
When Frances I died a year after his coronation, Mary went back to England, Where she was ill-prepared to take over, Mary a devout Catholic was returning to a protestant Scotland where Catholicism was banned. Mary eventually married her cousin the lord Darnley, who was murdered by the Lords, and Mary was blamed for the Murder, and was also accused of adultary with the lord Bothwell who she eventually Married and she was forced to take refuge in England where she remained a prisoner by Elizabeth I for 17 years until her beheading for allegedly being apart of a plot to escape and the assassination of Elizabeth I.
This is a riveting novel that stays true to history as far as events and characters, there were only two fictional characters. I can't wait to read her other Historical novels
the end results was a bloody Religious war in England and Scotland.
When Frances I died a year after his coronation, Mary went back to England, Where she was ill-prepared to take over, Mary a devout Catholic was returning to a protestant Scotland where Catholicism was banned. Mary eventually married her cousin the lord Darnley, who was murdered by the Lords, and Mary was blamed for the Murder, and was also accused of adultary with the lord Bothwell who she eventually Married and she was forced to take refuge in England where she remained a prisoner by Elizabeth I for 17 years until her beheading for allegedly being apart of a plot to escape and the assassination of Elizabeth I.
This is a riveting novel that stays true to history as far as events and characters, there were only two fictional characters. I can't wait to read her other Historical novels
January 21, 2024
Personal Challenge - read books written prior to 1999 - Book # 6
Year written: 1992
Oof, this is a brick of a book! 870 pages! It is well written, but way too descriptive, recounting events that could've been left out. Unfortunately, it really took away from the story, which in itself was so fascinating. At about 15%, I started skimming the pages and only stuck with it, because I wanted to know what happened to Mary and learn more about this particular time in history. Unfortunately, by 30% it was a DNF. I think I'll skip straight to watching the movie.
Year written: 1992
Oof, this is a brick of a book! 870 pages! It is well written, but way too descriptive, recounting events that could've been left out. Unfortunately, it really took away from the story, which in itself was so fascinating. At about 15%, I started skimming the pages and only stuck with it, because I wanted to know what happened to Mary and learn more about this particular time in history. Unfortunately, by 30% it was a DNF. I think I'll skip straight to watching the movie.
May 20, 2013
Aww, man. I wanted to like this book. I just couldn't.
Mary was a drag. I couldn't really relate to her. We got an occasional glimpse into her feelings, but it was always very external. While it's told largely from her perspective (though not in first person), she still feels distant as a human being. We're told she's beautiful. We're told she's athletic. We're told she's a devout Catholic, and that part was pretty solid. Not only did the author establish her religion, but she made it a part of her character. It was something that drove her thoughts and feelings and something that shaped what she did in the story. The beauty and athleticism, not so much. And yet there would be scenes where people would remark how beautiful she was, so we were reminded of it, but that was about it.
On the plus side, I knew nothing about Mary, so it was shocking to find out what a soap opera her life was. Married three times. Second husband, Darnley, was just horrible. Third husband was terribly amorous, but their time together was tragically brief...
I just couldn't get over how UN-regal Mary was compared to Elizabeth. Or even the Guises. She was rarely treated like a demi-god. She was openly disrespected. While I understand that Mary wasn't a big one for punishment, the people around her didn't correct the misbehaviors, either. What kind of a castle has such lax security that the Queen's favorite can be murdered at her dinner table? Walgreens has better security than that and you don't generally find royalty there...
This whole house arrest thing was odd. I guess that proved Elizabeth's power since at a whim Mary's situation could be very comfortable or miserable--though she usually had her furniture shipped to her, her people surrounding her and her dogs (?).
Riccio's character was interesting. I agree with the reviewer who wrote that his abuse at Darnley's hands was shocking and out of place (over the top). That bit read more like George RR Martin than the rest of Margaret George's book. And yet, despite this horrific occurance, there are no ripples of effect. A sentence or two will pop in about how bad the Lords were because they allowed this act to take place. Mary has nightmares for a little while. She misses his music at one point, too. But wouldn't you think having the blood of your good friend shed on you, in your home would reverberate more? Haunt you, perhaps? We hear more about her childhood marriage than that. Guess it had more of an impact on her?
This story definitely puts life into the religious wars of the time and sets the stage for the eventual end of the monarchy.
Yeah, I dunno. I'm having a tough time even writing this review. There was nothing in this story that made me FEEL anything about any of the characters. It was like a history lesson told with paper dolls. Riccio had potential and I was so hoping for him to get his revenge, but his story was squashed and my interest in the the book disappeared with it.
Only in the end when Mary had her Christlike execution did she start to really come to life as a character. But maybe that was the point? Just wish it hadn't taken 800+ pages to get there...
Mary was a drag. I couldn't really relate to her. We got an occasional glimpse into her feelings, but it was always very external. While it's told largely from her perspective (though not in first person), she still feels distant as a human being. We're told she's beautiful. We're told she's athletic. We're told she's a devout Catholic, and that part was pretty solid. Not only did the author establish her religion, but she made it a part of her character. It was something that drove her thoughts and feelings and something that shaped what she did in the story. The beauty and athleticism, not so much. And yet there would be scenes where people would remark how beautiful she was, so we were reminded of it, but that was about it.
On the plus side, I knew nothing about Mary, so it was shocking to find out what a soap opera her life was. Married three times. Second husband, Darnley, was just horrible. Third husband was terribly amorous, but their time together was tragically brief...
I just couldn't get over how UN-regal Mary was compared to Elizabeth. Or even the Guises. She was rarely treated like a demi-god. She was openly disrespected. While I understand that Mary wasn't a big one for punishment, the people around her didn't correct the misbehaviors, either. What kind of a castle has such lax security that the Queen's favorite can be murdered at her dinner table? Walgreens has better security than that and you don't generally find royalty there...
This whole house arrest thing was odd. I guess that proved Elizabeth's power since at a whim Mary's situation could be very comfortable or miserable--though she usually had her furniture shipped to her, her people surrounding her and her dogs (?).
Riccio's character was interesting. I agree with the reviewer who wrote that his abuse at Darnley's hands was shocking and out of place (over the top). That bit read more like George RR Martin than the rest of Margaret George's book. And yet, despite this horrific occurance, there are no ripples of effect. A sentence or two will pop in about how bad the Lords were because they allowed this act to take place. Mary has nightmares for a little while. She misses his music at one point, too. But wouldn't you think having the blood of your good friend shed on you, in your home would reverberate more? Haunt you, perhaps? We hear more about her childhood marriage than that. Guess it had more of an impact on her?
This story definitely puts life into the religious wars of the time and sets the stage for the eventual end of the monarchy.
Yeah, I dunno. I'm having a tough time even writing this review. There was nothing in this story that made me FEEL anything about any of the characters. It was like a history lesson told with paper dolls. Riccio had potential and I was so hoping for him to get his revenge, but his story was squashed and my interest in the the book disappeared with it.
Only in the end when Mary had her Christlike execution did she start to really come to life as a character. But maybe that was the point? Just wish it hadn't taken 800+ pages to get there...
September 26, 2012
The life of Mary Queen of Scots is perhaps history's greatest soap opera. It is impossible to make her story dull, although, when reading this novel, I sometimes had the feeling that George was trying her hardest to disprove that fact. True, Mary was a prisoner for twenty years, but did George have to spend what felt like twenty years describing it?
I wish the author had spent less time on the latter half of Mary's life, and more on her years in Scotland, particularly where her relationship with the Earl of Bothwell is concerned. Bothwell, to me, is one of history's more fascinating personalities, and I felt that, even though he is the book's hero, George rather gave him short shrift. I also felt she made numerous factual errors, that, though mostly minor, were distracting. For instance, while I agree with her that Darnley himself was responsible for mining his house at Kirk o'field with gunpowder, her overall scenario for his murder is unconvincing. Also, it is annoying that she seems to dither about the authorship of the Casket Letters. Before she wrote the book, she should have made up her mind on the subject, one way or another. All this aside, however, George is not untalented as a writer, and as a look at Mary's life and times, it is still an improvement over Antonia Fraser's book, which is one of the stupidest so-called "acclaimed" biographies I have ever read.
I wish the author had spent less time on the latter half of Mary's life, and more on her years in Scotland, particularly where her relationship with the Earl of Bothwell is concerned. Bothwell, to me, is one of history's more fascinating personalities, and I felt that, even though he is the book's hero, George rather gave him short shrift. I also felt she made numerous factual errors, that, though mostly minor, were distracting. For instance, while I agree with her that Darnley himself was responsible for mining his house at Kirk o'field with gunpowder, her overall scenario for his murder is unconvincing. Also, it is annoying that she seems to dither about the authorship of the Casket Letters. Before she wrote the book, she should have made up her mind on the subject, one way or another. All this aside, however, George is not untalented as a writer, and as a look at Mary's life and times, it is still an improvement over Antonia Fraser's book, which is one of the stupidest so-called "acclaimed" biographies I have ever read.
November 13, 2014
After 500+ pages, I quit.
"His lips were like sweet jelly, & she wanted to roll on them, crush them, bite & taste them." I should have quit here, at page 236. Or I should have quit in the painstakingly detailed scene where (King) Lord Darnley is persuaded by a prostitute to anally rape Riccio (in a threesome), the Queen's secretary. Instead I quit during the nth irritatingly whiny internal dialogue of the manchild King wherein he refers to his wife as a bitch and wishes he gave her syphilis.
HOW THE HELL IS THIS BOOK SO HIGHLY RATED?
Take an episode of the Tudors, make the main character a boring & air-headed Queen Mary Sue, slap in a couple Fabios, and write it as a 900 page romance novel.
Were the politics of this time interesting? I don't know! I have been enlightened with a variety of ways to describe sexual moaning and the heated removal of doublets & brocaded skirts.
"His lips were like sweet jelly, & she wanted to roll on them, crush them, bite & taste them." I should have quit here, at page 236. Or I should have quit in the painstakingly detailed scene where (King) Lord Darnley is persuaded by a prostitute to anally rape Riccio (in a threesome), the Queen's secretary. Instead I quit during the nth irritatingly whiny internal dialogue of the manchild King wherein he refers to his wife as a bitch and wishes he gave her syphilis.
HOW THE HELL IS THIS BOOK SO HIGHLY RATED?
Take an episode of the Tudors, make the main character a boring & air-headed Queen Mary Sue, slap in a couple Fabios, and write it as a 900 page romance novel.
Were the politics of this time interesting? I don't know! I have been enlightened with a variety of ways to describe sexual moaning and the heated removal of doublets & brocaded skirts.
February 14, 2017
Maria Stuart interessiert mich vor allem, seit ich die Serie Reign gucke (ja ich weiß, nicht sehr nah an der Realität) und als ich sah, dass es ihre Biografie als Roman gibt, musste ich den natürlich lesen.
Der Roman ist toll erzählt, anstrengend ist es allerdings durch die vielen vielen Namen. Über 200 historische Personen, die man iiiirgendwie auseinanderhalten soll. Ich habe da leicht den Überblick verloren, was aber der Geschichte keinen großen Abbruch getan hat. Allerdings zog es sich gegen Ende ein wenig. Vor allem die Seiten nach dem Todesurteil.
Insgesamt ist das Buch aber sehr zu empfehlen, wenn man historische Romane mag oder/und Interesse an Geschichte hat.
Der Roman ist toll erzählt, anstrengend ist es allerdings durch die vielen vielen Namen. Über 200 historische Personen, die man iiiirgendwie auseinanderhalten soll. Ich habe da leicht den Überblick verloren, was aber der Geschichte keinen großen Abbruch getan hat. Allerdings zog es sich gegen Ende ein wenig. Vor allem die Seiten nach dem Todesurteil.
Insgesamt ist das Buch aber sehr zu empfehlen, wenn man historische Romane mag oder/und Interesse an Geschichte hat.
November 4, 2012
I hadn't known too much about the details of Mary, Queen of Scots' life, so this book was really enjoyable and informative. I found myself advocating for Mary, then becoming frustrated with her decision making as she moved toward what I knew was going to be her demise. I was pleased to learn that, of the 200 characters in the book, all of them were real figures in history, so it seems Margaret George is a top notch historical writer. I also enjoyed hearing her (Margaret George) brief analysis of Mary and how she conducted her life.
June 28, 2025
What a tragic life Mary, Queen of Scots, led. Sad from beginning to end. Although she really should have thought a little more about trying to dethrone her cousin, Elizabeth I. But she thought herself the rightful queen and Elizabeth the usurper, so...
George produces intimidatingly large books that end up being really fast reads. I was completely engrossed in Mary's world. If you like historical fiction, you won't be disappointed in this one.
George produces intimidatingly large books that end up being really fast reads. I was completely engrossed in Mary's world. If you like historical fiction, you won't be disappointed in this one.
October 22, 2025
I bought this book from a charity shop years ago and tried and failed to read it twice as a teenager. I assumed that this was because it was too difficult for me (it's 860 pages long) but I am sad to report that the real reason it is so hard to get through is that it is bad. The book is SO LONG, but George's pacing is baffling. The entire enormous text is an example of telling, not showing, with the result that huge battles are waved away in a paragraph so the natural climaxes are short and flat. The bulk of the book is made up of lengthy descriptions of Mary's (and random other characters') thoughts, which are, again, explained to me in simplistic terms with an over-reliance on rhetorical questions rather than shown. George does not trust the reader to infer even the simplest thing. I'm not kidding here - she has to tell us when castles are cold instead of showing us snow or fires or characters rubbing their hands etc. This narrative style makes the entire book feel condescending.
The problems with George's prose are either a stylistic choice or a skill issue but the pacing problems clearly result from her lack of a clear vision. George doesn't seem to know what she wants the book to be. It ends up being a bildungsroman-cum-biography, narrating Mary's motivations in the way of a biographer offering their interpretation but also including loads of sex scenes (which all made me want to wince). This is the other side of the bewildering decision to essentially cut all of the fighting - including battles the historical Mary was literally at and witnessed - because the page space was evidently needed for all of the loooooove. This Mary is in love with literally everyone. She's kind of a sex pest actually. But we don't get to see her falling in love. Instead, George will politely inform us that she is now mega horny for the next chap in line and then her behaviour will abruptly change.
This is a further gripe I have with this book: the characterisation. In her afterword, George describes her Mary as 'warmhearted, loyal, brave, generous, and spirited, but also unable to read character, volatile, impulsive, and better at quick action than at sustained strategy'. To be fair to George (and to explain why I am not giving this book one star) Mary does come across as warmhearted and loyal and all of the negative qualities. I do wonder how much of that is just due to the plot (aka the historical facts, so the only bit George didn't come up with) rather than characterisation. There is some attempt at characterising people generally but again, we are usually just told what they are like rather than shown it. Even when George does show a character is loyal, as an example, first she will have Mary think to herself, "ooh Bob McScotsman is ever so loyal isn't he?" just to make sure the reader is on the look out for the Display Of Loyalty that will follow. It was so annoying and I didn't like any of the characters because they felt so cardboard. If George really wanted this to be a romance, she needed to make me like literally any single one of Mary, Francois, Darnley and Bothwell. Or at least care what happened to them. A historical novel based on real people has to make the reader care what happens because they may already know the ending. I know the story of Mary, Queen of Scots and I thought that this book would provide additional interesting detail, but instead it was a massive slog that I would have given up on if I didn't feel I owed it to my fourteen-year-old self to finish the bastard. I could have dealt with the uninspiring prose or the rampant American-splaining from George, whose massive amount of research still resulted in nothing close to Scottish or English prose. What I couldn't deal with was my absolute lack of interest in seeing how Mary gets to the end because she, and everyone else, were just SO ANNOYING.
I hate it when people patronise me. I especially hate when they patronise me while having blatantly dreadful takes on history. I do not agree with a lot of the ways George interprets events in this book, but I'm not knocking off a star for that because I do think at least some argument can be made for them even if they seem a bit silly to me. This has been a very negative review but I have to give George some credit: she has done a lot of research. She clearly knows and loves Mary very much and that passion for the subject does come through. She also succeeded at times in creating tension even when I knew what was going to happen, although that was spoilt somewhat by the fact that I fundamentally did not care about the characters. By the end, I did feel some sympathy for Mary even though I found her annoying, which is probably the most nuanced characterisation available in this book. I think that George should have written a nice flowery biography instead. She's clearly a good researcher and her prose is entirely serviceable. But then she'd be forced to write about the interesting bits (why would you cut all the battles from your story???? they're the only fun bits come on) and we couldn't have that!
Some may like this book. Probably not early modernists though. I think it would kill Cyril. It put me into a reading slump almost single-handedly and that is bloody difficult to do. Only read this book if you have no degrees in history or english literature. Or just, like, read something else. I'm not your mum.
The problems with George's prose are either a stylistic choice or a skill issue but the pacing problems clearly result from her lack of a clear vision. George doesn't seem to know what she wants the book to be. It ends up being a bildungsroman-cum-biography, narrating Mary's motivations in the way of a biographer offering their interpretation but also including loads of sex scenes (which all made me want to wince). This is the other side of the bewildering decision to essentially cut all of the fighting - including battles the historical Mary was literally at and witnessed - because the page space was evidently needed for all of the loooooove. This Mary is in love with literally everyone. She's kind of a sex pest actually. But we don't get to see her falling in love. Instead, George will politely inform us that she is now mega horny for the next chap in line and then her behaviour will abruptly change.
This is a further gripe I have with this book: the characterisation. In her afterword, George describes her Mary as 'warmhearted, loyal, brave, generous, and spirited, but also unable to read character, volatile, impulsive, and better at quick action than at sustained strategy'. To be fair to George (and to explain why I am not giving this book one star) Mary does come across as warmhearted and loyal and all of the negative qualities. I do wonder how much of that is just due to the plot (aka the historical facts, so the only bit George didn't come up with) rather than characterisation. There is some attempt at characterising people generally but again, we are usually just told what they are like rather than shown it. Even when George does show a character is loyal, as an example, first she will have Mary think to herself, "ooh Bob McScotsman is ever so loyal isn't he?" just to make sure the reader is on the look out for the Display Of Loyalty that will follow. It was so annoying and I didn't like any of the characters because they felt so cardboard. If George really wanted this to be a romance, she needed to make me like literally any single one of Mary, Francois, Darnley and Bothwell. Or at least care what happened to them. A historical novel based on real people has to make the reader care what happens because they may already know the ending. I know the story of Mary, Queen of Scots and I thought that this book would provide additional interesting detail, but instead it was a massive slog that I would have given up on if I didn't feel I owed it to my fourteen-year-old self to finish the bastard. I could have dealt with the uninspiring prose or the rampant American-splaining from George, whose massive amount of research still resulted in nothing close to Scottish or English prose. What I couldn't deal with was my absolute lack of interest in seeing how Mary gets to the end because she, and everyone else, were just SO ANNOYING.
I hate it when people patronise me. I especially hate when they patronise me while having blatantly dreadful takes on history. I do not agree with a lot of the ways George interprets events in this book, but I'm not knocking off a star for that because I do think at least some argument can be made for them even if they seem a bit silly to me. This has been a very negative review but I have to give George some credit: she has done a lot of research. She clearly knows and loves Mary very much and that passion for the subject does come through. She also succeeded at times in creating tension even when I knew what was going to happen, although that was spoilt somewhat by the fact that I fundamentally did not care about the characters. By the end, I did feel some sympathy for Mary even though I found her annoying, which is probably the most nuanced characterisation available in this book. I think that George should have written a nice flowery biography instead. She's clearly a good researcher and her prose is entirely serviceable. But then she'd be forced to write about the interesting bits (why would you cut all the battles from your story???? they're the only fun bits come on) and we couldn't have that!
Some may like this book. Probably not early modernists though. I think it would kill Cyril. It put me into a reading slump almost single-handedly and that is bloody difficult to do. Only read this book if you have no degrees in history or english literature. Or just, like, read something else. I'm not your mum.
April 11, 2022
It's finally over. I really liked the first two books I read by Margaret George(Henry VIII & Nero) so I had high hopes for this book. I have always been fascinated with this time period and anything relating to England and Queen Elizabeth so this book seemed like a perfect choice but I was very disappointed.
It started great with the first 18 years of Mary's life being a fascinating whirlwind of big events which was covered in the first 150-200 pages. Her dad died when she was only a few days old making her the queen of Scotland. Obviously she could not rule yet so regents ruled for her namely her mother Mary of Guise who was a pretty remarkable women in her own right. Mary of Scots was sent to France for her protection to be raised and was committed to Francis the Dauphin of France. This made good sense at the time because she was catholic and France was catholic so the union should be good for the catholic faith and the two countries. Mary officially marries Francis when she is only 16 and he is 14 which of course is insane but such was the times. This should have set them up nicely but Franics's father dies suddenly a year after the marriage making Francis King and Mary Queen and 15 and 17 respectively. As if this isn't crazy enough Francis dies a year later leaving Mary a widow and in limbo. Francis's mother Catherine de' Medici wants nothing to do with Mary so she finally decides to go to Scotland to stake her claim to the throne. This was all in the first 150 pages or so which made for a great book but once Mary goes to Scotland surprisingly things seem to stagnate.
Mary spends the rest of her life trying to unite the people of Scotland but by the time she goes there Scotland has at least two competing factions. Even the people that are supposed to be in her camp have questionable loyalties. She spends a majority of the rest of her life either being held against her will or surrounded by her loyalists which still felt like a prison of sorts.
I can't explain why the last 3/4 of the book didn't work for me except to say it just seemed like more of the same as she was constantly trying to please the Queen of England and wondering who around her she could really trust.
Mary had an interesting life but I really feel like this book should have been 200 pages shorter.
Having said this I still like Margaret Georges writing and plan to read more of her books.
It started great with the first 18 years of Mary's life being a fascinating whirlwind of big events which was covered in the first 150-200 pages. Her dad died when she was only a few days old making her the queen of Scotland. Obviously she could not rule yet so regents ruled for her namely her mother Mary of Guise who was a pretty remarkable women in her own right. Mary of Scots was sent to France for her protection to be raised and was committed to Francis the Dauphin of France. This made good sense at the time because she was catholic and France was catholic so the union should be good for the catholic faith and the two countries. Mary officially marries Francis when she is only 16 and he is 14 which of course is insane but such was the times. This should have set them up nicely but Franics's father dies suddenly a year after the marriage making Francis King and Mary Queen and 15 and 17 respectively. As if this isn't crazy enough Francis dies a year later leaving Mary a widow and in limbo. Francis's mother Catherine de' Medici wants nothing to do with Mary so she finally decides to go to Scotland to stake her claim to the throne. This was all in the first 150 pages or so which made for a great book but once Mary goes to Scotland surprisingly things seem to stagnate.
Mary spends the rest of her life trying to unite the people of Scotland but by the time she goes there Scotland has at least two competing factions. Even the people that are supposed to be in her camp have questionable loyalties. She spends a majority of the rest of her life either being held against her will or surrounded by her loyalists which still felt like a prison of sorts.
I can't explain why the last 3/4 of the book didn't work for me except to say it just seemed like more of the same as she was constantly trying to please the Queen of England and wondering who around her she could really trust.
Mary had an interesting life but I really feel like this book should have been 200 pages shorter.
Having said this I still like Margaret Georges writing and plan to read more of her books.
August 25, 2010
I am a big fan of Margaret George and have enjoyed the books she has written immensely. Mary Queen of Scots however missed the mark with me. Too often this book degraded into Harlequin romancesque passages. There were times I closed the book to look at the front cover to be certain a shirtless Fabio wasn’t on it. I think I could have over looked that aspect of the book if the rest of it had kept me enraptured. However large amounts of the book outside the bosom heaving love making passages were quite frankly boring. That isn’t to say that I found myself obsessively page turning at some points to find out what happened next, but you can only read so many pages of hunting trips and travels between pieces of land before your eyes start to roll to the back of your head. Also the first few chapters about her childhood in France were a gigantic snoozer. Too many times I would gear up for a big scene, thinking this is going to be explosive only to have it fizzle out. The Queen’s meetings with John Knox in the first half of the book, the aftermath of the Riccio murder, the downfall of Henry Lord Darnley. All of these events turn into sneezes that work themselves up only to unsatisfyingly dissipate. I’ll admit that the last 10 pages I found myself near tears at the thought of her beheading but I certainly wasn’t worth the 860 pages to be moved emotionally.
Too much of this book seemed to be filler. The more I thought about it the more I began to wonder why Mary Queen of Scots is such a popular monarch and not merely a footnote to history. All told, her time on the throne, actually ruling not in absentia, equaled barely six years. She passed no significant laws, made no significant changes to the state religion, nor did she greatly improved the standing or size of her empire. The bulk of her years in Scotland were marked by internal squabbles with the Protestants. Before her reign in Scotland her early and terribly uneventful childhood and teenage years were spent in France barely making a mark on history. After her reign she abdicated and spent the remainder of her life as a “prisoner” in England moving from castle to castle, praying and writing letters to a world that had mostly forgotten her existence. I don’t see why she warrants an 800 plus page book chronicling her life or any of the popularity she has culled over time.
Too much of this book seemed to be filler. The more I thought about it the more I began to wonder why Mary Queen of Scots is such a popular monarch and not merely a footnote to history. All told, her time on the throne, actually ruling not in absentia, equaled barely six years. She passed no significant laws, made no significant changes to the state religion, nor did she greatly improved the standing or size of her empire. The bulk of her years in Scotland were marked by internal squabbles with the Protestants. Before her reign in Scotland her early and terribly uneventful childhood and teenage years were spent in France barely making a mark on history. After her reign she abdicated and spent the remainder of her life as a “prisoner” in England moving from castle to castle, praying and writing letters to a world that had mostly forgotten her existence. I don’t see why she warrants an 800 plus page book chronicling her life or any of the popularity she has culled over time.
October 2, 2009
Margaret George does a tremendous job bringing to life the times and characters and the drama surrounding the legendary Mary, Queen of Scots. I finally have a lot of questions answered regarding this woman's mysterious history. I like the way this book tells of her entire life, not just her captivity in England in which all she does in other novels is write letters and whine. BUT, once I reached page 500, I had enough, and no offense to Margaret George, I simply cannot stand Mary, Queen of Scots. First quarter of the book is about her life in France and deja vu!! I noticed a striking resemblance to Marie Antoinette in Abundance. Mary's first 18 years was nothing but parties and happiness and clothes while her poor mother struggled in Scotland to hold the throne. I would also like to note that again, there is a rather impotent dauphin.. I guess the French have problems in that area.. Nevertheless, when Mary finally does take the Scottish throne, no one wants her there and the reader will soon find out why. While her subjects struggle with everyday life, she is importing porcupines, bears, and lions for her amusement. She marries a man everyone begs her not to marry and then cries over his ill treatment of her 2 months or so later. She pardons every thief or murderer in the country, including the ones that tried to kill her. (And wonders why they turn against her again!!) She also inflicts a tax upon her subjects to pay for an elaborate baptismal soiree for her son, when her people most likely cannot afford to baptize their own children. And after all her holier than thow attitude attesting that she is a devout Catholic, proceeds to desecrate an altar in a chapel by... soiling it..with the Lord Bothwell. Needless to say, by page 500, I had had enough. The woman did not deserve her throne and served as a window decoration so to speak and I really cannot blame people for overthrowing her. Great job to Margaret George tho.
May 30, 2024
A very good historical fictional novel of the beautiful tragic queen of France for a short time and queen of Scotland. She wanted to be queen of England but the great Elizabeth I was queen. Cousins their lives were interwoven. If Mary had only made the decisions Elizabeth did history of Scotland would have been different. Her bad choices in her second and third husbands took her life in a very tragic road that ended in her being taken to the scaffold. She really made the only choices she could. She had hardly any support even her half brother aspired to rise and take her throne. She was kind, caring, loving, great at embroidery. She loved her son and had no relationship with him because he was raised by Protestants whereas as she was a hated faithful catholic. The 2 queens had love for each other but events and conspirators especially Cecil and John Knox kept them apart. This book takes us from her birth and queen at 6 days old to her tragic death. She was called a whore and a saint. Mary’s son inherited the throne of England and Scotland so did she succeed in the end through all the heartache and pain she endured. I selfishly think she did and I only hope and wish that she knows and rests happy forever more. I say goodbye to this wonderful beautiful queen. As you can see I have tremendous love and admiration for this queen who is my many times great grandmother and search with dedication for anything that relates to her.
October 21, 2013
Mary Queen of Scots led a fascinating life, which is described in captivating detail in George's book. Despite the commitment the length of this book demands, every page held a piece of Scottish history I wanted to understand.
Mary can be a very controversial historical figure. So I imagine writing about her life can create much debate for the author, either representing her in a good or bad light. However, I respected George's interpretation, even more so once reading her notes at the end of the book. It seems she went to every effort to show Mary for who George saw her to be based on as many facts as possible. She was not only a Scottish Queen but a French Queen that loved her international upbringing. She was beautiful but boyish, naive but strong, faithful but tolerant of others beliefs. She was an impulsive person who rarely listened to the sound advice she was given, which led her towards danger many times. In her way, she brought her captivity on herself because of these traits. However, without such character she would not be the prominent Scottish figure she is today.
She truly is a fascinating woman, full of many contradictions but true to who she was. In the end, I found myself respecting this character that George brought to life.
Mary can be a very controversial historical figure. So I imagine writing about her life can create much debate for the author, either representing her in a good or bad light. However, I respected George's interpretation, even more so once reading her notes at the end of the book. It seems she went to every effort to show Mary for who George saw her to be based on as many facts as possible. She was not only a Scottish Queen but a French Queen that loved her international upbringing. She was beautiful but boyish, naive but strong, faithful but tolerant of others beliefs. She was an impulsive person who rarely listened to the sound advice she was given, which led her towards danger many times. In her way, she brought her captivity on herself because of these traits. However, without such character she would not be the prominent Scottish figure she is today.
She truly is a fascinating woman, full of many contradictions but true to who she was. In the end, I found myself respecting this character that George brought to life.
March 18, 2010
I want to finish this but I'm struggling. I always find with George's books, there are slow bits inbetween the exciting bits. Even though one of her books is among my favorites (Autobiography of Henry VIII), her work seems to be hit and miss with me because I couldn't finish "Mary, Called Magdalene" and now this one I'm finding the slow bits are more frequent than they should be.
There was also one scene that I thought really wasn't necessary and took the idea of "creative license" too liberally. I was surprised because typically, I find Margaret George's novels to be fairly accurate, within reason. It reminded me of a similar scene in the movie "The Other Boleyn Girl" which I promptly turned off at that point.
I was surprised to see it was written in third person since, if I recall correctly, all her other books to date are written in first person. Maybe that is why I didn't enjoy it as much - although I don't have a problem with third person and often prefer it, I find George's lengthy novels and writting style suit first person narratives, really allowing you to get inside the main characters head. I didn't feel that as strongly this time.
There was also one scene that I thought really wasn't necessary and took the idea of "creative license" too liberally. I was surprised because typically, I find Margaret George's novels to be fairly accurate, within reason. It reminded me of a similar scene in the movie "The Other Boleyn Girl" which I promptly turned off at that point.
I was surprised to see it was written in third person since, if I recall correctly, all her other books to date are written in first person. Maybe that is why I didn't enjoy it as much - although I don't have a problem with third person and often prefer it, I find George's lengthy novels and writting style suit first person narratives, really allowing you to get inside the main characters head. I didn't feel that as strongly this time.
April 6, 2011
This was a great read! Perfect for the beach, as it was easy to dip in and out of. As an historical fiction junkie, it was super. The story, which I was not very familiar with, was fascinating. Filled with intrigue, betrayal, and the politics of the day, I remained interested most of the time, only losing interest occasionally in scenes filled with intense battle descriptions or the like. Mary had a life marked by much sadness and disappointment, but throughout it all, she kept a sense of almost naive optimism. At times I found myself hoping against hope that she would triumph over Queen Elizabeth, even though I knew that was an impossibility. Overall, I was kept a bit sad throughout, as she truly was let down on so many levels over and over again. Her political, personal, and romantic lives were all dismal, and this was rendered on an extremely personal level. Only the can do spirit Mary was born with and kept throughout her life kept this on an even keel. I will definitely go back to this again to reread it.
March 12, 2014
I went back and forth on whether to give four or five stars. During most of the book, it was like traveling back in time, and having a secret hiding place, watching history unfold through a tiny window, but never actually being inside the room. Although it kept me very interested throughout, it didn't become a page turner for me until about halfway through. I didn't have that breathless magical feeling I get when I finish a five star novel that truly moves me. However, the amount of work that must have been put into writing this novel is staggering, and deserves five stars for that alone. It also caused me to think about Mary and about that part of history in a whole new way. I found myself stopping reading in several places and reflecting on the nature of power and politics. I found myself wanting to know more about some of the other historical figures that the book touched on. For all of that, plus the fact that it really was a fascinating read, I gave it five stars.
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