Mary Queen of Scots: A Life from Beginning to End

by Hourly History

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary Stuart was born into a powerful royal dynasty that was at war with the rest of Europe and with itself. Mary’s ascent to the throne was disarmingly easy and she reached adulthood completely unprepared for the plots and betrayals she would be subject to. As the head of a resolutely unstable country, Mary struggled to maintain her grip on the precarious crown on her head and was removed from the throne by an armed rebellion. Inside you will read about... ✓ Early Life ✓ A Fairy Tale in France ✓ A Most Tragic Year ✓ Return to Scotland and Marriage to Darnley ✓ The Murders of Rizzio and Darnley ✓ The Final Rebellion ✓ Elizabeth and the Casket Letters ✓ An Incarcerated Queen ✓ The Execution Held as a prisoner for more than eighteen years, Mary suffered the final betrayal of her life aged 44 when she was executed by her own cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Ebooks, Scotland, Biography Memoir, Royalty

128 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 23, 2016

About the author

At Hourly History, we focus on publishing history books that are concise, straightforward and take no longer than one hour to read.

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Reviews

[Labijose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una vida tan fascinante como dramática. Una de las reinas que ha dejado mayor huella tanto en Escocia como en todo el Reino Unido.
Aún no se sabe a ciencia cierta si las famosas “cartas del cofre”, que fueron el detonante de su ejecución, son realmente atribuibles a ella. Lo que sí queda claro es que tuvo muy mala suerte a la hora de elegir maridos. Lo pagó caro, con 18 años de reclusión en Inglaterra, siempre creyendo que su medio prima Isabel I intercedería a su favor. No fue así. La leyenda en torno a cómo fue decapitada la ha encumbrado a los altares de las mártires por la causa.
Biografía muy breve, pero suficiente para esclarecer las posibles dudas de cualquier lector que no necesite adentrarse en mayores detalles. La he disfrutado.

[Nihal · Rating 4 out of 5]

"In my end, is my beginning"

Mary, Queen of Scots, has won a place in history. Since Queen Elizabeth I died as the ‘Virgin Queen’, the next rulers of England were none other than Mary’s own descendants. Even though she wasn’t happily accepted as a queen by the people, she made her way out of the troubles and kept her place. She was truly a great ruler of Scotland. The book too was written nicely with a great explanation of her life and rule.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a marvelous writeup. Queen of Scots has always fascinated me but everything around her was so vivid, so confusing and so horrendous. And then there was that Netflix trash which misleads everyone in all directions.

This is the first proper writeup I've ever come across about the Queen of Scots. What a bloody tragedy. Being born into a powerful dynasty and being snatched from the native surroundings and raised in a foreign culture isn't much of a help I guess. What I gathered was no matter how dynamic and charismatic she was, she failed in one aspect. That's understanding those who are around her and the men who came seeking her hand. I also think underestimating Elizabeth was the biggest mistake of all.

However things rolled out, the poor woman didn't deserve everything that happened to her in her life. And the good for nothing son of hers, well, he did carry her bloodline but his behaviors was despicable.

I really enjoyed it. I loved the way the book was written and phased. I think I should dive into the other books in the series too.

Book #79 of 2021..

[Darren-lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - interesting...

[Contentmo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comprehensive history as well as entertaining
Everything you'd like to know in a comprehensive version about the life of Mary Queen of Scots is in this book. Highly recommend!

[Young Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

After having read "Queen Elizabeth I" by the same publisher, this book amused me with the Scottish Queen Mary's angle over the course of events that paralleled that of Elizabeth.

The best line that opened my eyes was:
(Kindle Location 489)
...Every subsequent ruler of Great Britain to this day is descended from Mary Queen of Scots and not Elizabeth, who died the “Virgin Queen.”

It's quite an entertainment to read fast in simple-clear format in plain English.

[Neil Brunton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The First lady of the 16th century

I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it gives the facts or lies depending on whom one believes .Personally I believe it didn't matter what religion she was to the lords and other powerful men ,it was because she was female and they couldn't stand it that a beautiful young woman ruled them .if you read more about Mary a lot of the stories made her out to be an adulteress when nearly every man was married and had a mistress ,but that wasn't seen as wrong back then .The story of Mary cannot be told without Elizabeth ,it reads like a Shakespearean tragedy .

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Born 1652 she was the great-niece of Henry VIII. She lived in France and became married to the future king of that country. The book goes into her health problems, how she became queen of France and England and how she returned to Scotland.

It discusses how she married a second time, how she was forced to abdicate, the English hatred of her and how Elizabeth I ended up putting her into the dungeon and how she ended up being executed. Obviously, it was not the best life that she led. It also goes to show just how unsteady rulership was at that time; friends became enemies and how asking for help could led to your being killed.

[Jim Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A biography of Elizabeth's doomed cousin

I enjoyed this biography as this was the first I have learned of Mary as she was and not strictly an English version. Two insights come to.mind as this is read . First, how women were used as pawns by male politicians . Secondly,how bitter the conflict was between the Catholics and Protestants during this time. I suppose, I really mean the personal nature of this conflict considering the
number of assassinations . If you enjoy history and want a complete picture of Mary Queen of Scotts , you will be well informed here.

[Bonnie Gleckler Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Born a queen… Taking the throne at a very young age due to the death of her mother. Later on question would be asked, based on the “Casket letters”, was Mary a murderous adulterer or a victim of designs of powerful men?
Many interesting facts about Mary Queen of Scots is told within this hourly history. Having known little about her, reading this, I’ll be at brief, expose about Mary’s life was most interesting.

[Neera Kapahi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary Queen of Scots became Queen of Scotland at just six days old. She was raised in the French court and later returned to Scotland. Her reign was turbulent.

The book describes her as attractive and charismatic. I enjoyed the book because her tumultuous and colorful life read like a soap opera.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this on the heels of a biography of Queen Elizabeth I and am completely lost because Mary Queen of Scots was vilified in that other book. I don't know what to believe. it was very well written, however. hence the high rating

[Olivia Castetter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good starting point

I found MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS to be an excellent starting point for my foray into medieval Scottish politics. However, the abundance of typos were occasionally distracting.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful and would recommend reading it along with Queen Elizabeth I as they were intricately entwined. This book helped me differentiate between Mary Queen of Scots and Mary Tudor who was half sister of Elizabeth - too many Mary's! My biggest insight from the book was that all successors to Elizabeth were from Mary Queen of Scots lineage.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary Queen of Scots

Very informative and easy to read. The book doesn’t go into a lot of detail but does give incite into Mary’s life from her birth, life in France, marriages to Darnley & Bothwell & most importantly with Elizabeth I. It’s a good, quick read. 5 stars

[Anil Swarup · Rating 3 out of 5]

The complex life and character comes out vividly in this offering from Hourly History. The author remains unbiased in his approach to unravelling various mysteries that surrounded Mary during her tumultuous tenure as Queen of Scotland and in captivity in England.

[Janet Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good quick telling of a tragic monarch!

A very quick telling of a famous but tragic Queen Mary of Scotland. A good biography well written but missed a great deal out! Good but incomplete!

[Miss Wendy Gasson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very happy reader

The book is well written and easy to read. It doesn't use special jargon thereby making history not only accessible but also enjoyable. I will be looking at other books in the series.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Short and Unfathomably Sweet.

I loved this quick synopsis of the life of Mary Queen of Scots. I think the author did a great job highlighting her life and all the historical events that took place.

I look forward to reading more!

[Nigel W Ackland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great value

Really enjoyed this shortly book on Mary’s life story, well written and it was very well read. Where many books cover portions of her fascinating life this one covered it all very nicely and kept me glued to the end. Really worth the read.

[Dr.J.G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great deal of travails suffered by this queen, and millions of others, were due solely to the inherent extreme intolerance of all monotheisms, and especially of those of later abrahmic variety.
****

[Courtney Wynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary is one of the tudors I was always most fascinated by and though I thought I knew a lot I was mistaken because this book gave me so much more information I absolutely loved reading this and getting more in depth details about her life

[Katie Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary

The telling of the Great story of Mary Queen of Scots. She was crowned Queen at only 6 days old, after the death of her father.

[Norman McCurry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting fun read about the life of Mary Queen of Scots

A good , quick read for history lovers. I Learned a lot about her life . 3 stars. History made easy.

[Helen Ewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short but concise

The book didn’t give me any more that what I already knew but it was good to refresh my knowledge.

[B & A & F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly well written and passionate storytelling.

[Peter McDade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Summary

If you ever wanted to know the complete story of Mary Queen of Scots, then this is a well written summary, not a list of facts.

[Jeanne Morigeau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yikes! Who would want to be queen?

[Candy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I likes this book for its very concise/short history of her life. Good book to read before going to Scotland,

[Kayla Martini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great detail in a short book about the life of Mary Queen of Scotts.