Customer Reviews

Fatal Majesty

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've long been fascinated by the story of Mary, Queen of Scots, so I was looking forward to reading this new novel. I can't say I thought much of it, however. The style rather reminds me of those paperback romances you find at airport terminals and supermarket checkout lines, and the history, while accurate in spots, seems mostly taken from Antonia Fraser's silly biography of Mary. In other words, our heroine comes off as a brainless sap who seemingly deserved to be pitched off her throne. Having a protagonist you want to give a good slap to does not make for pleasant reading.

My main annoyance with the book, however, was Tannahill's cliched treatment of Mary's third husband, the Earl of Bothwell. Going against all the objective historical evidence, Tannahill gives us the tired old tale of Bothwell as Border ruffian who, after blowing Mary's previous husband up with gunpowder, then takes it into his head to kidnap, rape, and coerce Mary into an unwanted marriage with him. Spare me. I was hoping most reputable authors had gotten past that by now. In truth, Bothwell deserved to be the hero of Tannahill's work, and the fact that he wasn't leaves the book with a certain lack of credibility to me. (I'll admit, I'm prejudiced on that point. I feel about Bothwell rather the way Richard III Society members feel about that monarch.)

The book started out fairly well I thought, although being an avid "fan" of Mary Queen of Scots I kept noticing little details here and there where I was thinking "That didn't really happen like that" or "This could really have been expanded on". I found this latter one particularly grating at the end, where Mary is imprisoned and years slide by so quickly one can hardly get a feel for the isolation she must have felt. And her death at the end I thought should have been more emotional...though I did like the one sequence of Elizabeth and the "scream". The one point on which I completely agree with the reader from Canoga Park is Tannahill's treatment of Bothwell. Initially I thought he was going to be characterized positively, but then he became the murderous, uncivilized lout that I also thought historians had done well to disprove now...and the "kidnapping and rape" was in actuality almost certainly done with Mary's collusion. Tannahill also takes Antonia Fraser's tremulous view that Mary had been five weeks pregnant at the time of her miscarriage, and not five months, which was initially reported and far more likely...because this would prove that she did indeed have an adulterous affair with Bothwell. Instead of putting in the entirely probable romance between Mary and Bothwell, Tannahill tacks on details about the relationship between Lethington and Mary Fleming, which I was only mildly interested in at best. I guess this was to substitute for the total lack of love she portrayed in Mary's life, but it didn't work for me and left me feeling really unsatisfied.

Reay Tannahill's Fatal Majesty is about Mary, Queen of Scots, and I liked it even better than The Seventh Son. It's written in a similar style, with a very dry, sardonic tone to the narration.

Fatal Majesty switches back and forth between the English court and the Scottish court, and has a very wide cast of characters--wide enough, in fact, to be rather confusing for someone who isn't intimately familiar with the main players of the time. Most of the characters act entirely in their own self-interest, like so many spiders spinning their webs, and it is the convergence of these webs that eventually engulfs and destroys Mary.

Though Tannahill is sympathetic toward Mary, one gets a sense of distance, especially in the latter half of the novel. Indeed, Tannahill's favorite character seems to be Mary's Secretary of State, Lethington, which gives rise to what I thought was the novel's major flaw: once Lethington makes his final exit, Tannahill becomes far less engaged with her material, making the last fifty pages a bit of chore to get through. Tannahill covers thirty years in those fifty pages, and although there's a lot of intrigue packed in those years and pages, I found myself skimming. Worse, Mary herself appears only occasionally in them. That may have been to drive home the point that she was little more than the pawn of others during that time, but I would have liked to have seen more of Mary nonetheless. Still, this is a 450-plus-page novel, and the pleasure of reading the first 400 pages, packed full of excellent characterizations and dry wit, more than makes up for the relative weakness of the last fifty pages.

This was a departure from the types of books I usually read, but one that I found very enjoyable. It read like a thriller, even though I already knew the outcome. The author is from Scotland and the book was naturally sympathetic to Mary.

The book begins in 1561 when the 18 year-old Queen Mary returns to Scotland for the first time in 13 years, as the widow of the king of France and its former Queen, albeit briefly. The story follows the plotting of her half-brother James who wants the throne for himself; her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England who sees Mary as a personal threat; and the brilliant leadership of Lethington, her Secretary of State, whose only agenda is to place a Stewart on England's throne. Although Mary and her ambitions were portrayed in a favorable light, I found that she also seemed to be a woman who was manipulated by the men who advised her, men who were out for their own personal gain (with the exception of Lethington and a few others).

The author has managed to make this story into a romantic thriller, in the best sense of the term. She brought these characters and the history of the time to to vivid life.

I was fortunate to have visited the palace (Holyroodhouse) and castle (Edinburgh Castle) where much of the action of the story took place, which greatly added to my interest.

This is a book that needs to be read in a quiet corner where you won't be disturbed. It can get a bit difficult to keep track of the many plots, counter plots and even the changes of names of the characters.

Mary returned to Scotland from France to take up her throne when she was 18 years old. From that moment, she lost control of her destiny as she became the object of other people's ambitions and schemes. Her half brother James wanted to be the King of Scotland. Her secretary of state, Lethington, wanted to gain the thron of England for Scotland. Her two husbands both wanted the throne. The only people who had her interests at heart were the four ladies in waiting who came with her from France.

If Mary had had the cunning of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England, she may have survived. As it was, it seems that she was manipulated by everyone who came in contact with her. She was completely out of her depth.

The book didn't seem to provide any insight into Mary's thoughts or feelings. One example being when she was held prisoner in England for 18 years. She must have wondered about her small son still in Scotland. This is barely mentioned.

I learned some Scottish history but Mary, Queen of Scots is still a mystery to me.

'Fatal Majesty' follows the life of Mary, Queen of Scots from the time of her French husband King Francois's death and her resultant relocation to Scotalnd, until her death. Mary is surrounded by advisors and lords, who are untrustworthy and scheming despite seemingly close relationships with her. Her brother James and her closest advisor, Lethington, spend a great deal of time negotiating her marriage amongst European leaders, namely Queen Elizabeth of England. Her choice of husband ultimately leads to chaos, rebellion, scandal, and accusations of murder and adultery.

The novel is well-written and very concise, but weighed down by a flurry of lords, dukes, and royals that are really hard to keep track of. Take the web on the cover illustration as a big hint--it's not eay to grasp the relationships between characters, and new characters are being introduced even in the final chapters of the novel. The family tree at the start of the book doesn't help much.

Great novel for those who love to read historically-based novels, but a bit of a struggle unless you have a great attention span and alot of patience.

Studied in England for a few months and purchased the book there; this author has a gift for finding the perfect words to describe human emotion and interaction. History truly comes alive, and you are emotionally connected to every character in the book. Different from the English version of history of this period, and what you would read in textbooks - it makes history what it is - human. Excellent read - buy it!

finally a book which successfully combines history and fiction .You don't get bored by historical references -you just watch a story which is happens to be true.It is wellwritten ,divided into mini chapters enabling the reader to proceed at his own pace. It reminds me a lot of a movie with its breathtaking scenery which stands as an excuse for great performances by the characters.In a few words a fascinating plot,quick and understandable. An approachment to historical personalities from their human side which is always stimulating for the readers.A movie like book; it is like watching a drama era with a political thriller plot.

When I first cracked the spine of this novel I was aprehensive about it. I thought I was going to be reading a stuffy historical novel about a queen and her court's wrongdoings. I was, however, mistaken. For the first time in my readings, I have found a book that successfully combines a history that nobody really knows the intricacies of and a fiction that is so realistic, it may have actually occured. Instead of trying the queen and painting a portrait of an angered lunatic, Mary is shown as a young girl (only 24 by the time she was married for the third time) frightened and manipulated by her lords for their own personal gain. I was instantly swept into the story of her life, was steered into the motives behind her actions and left feeling a pain for her and the tragedy that was her life. Reay Tannahill successfully created this world and manipulated the reader to like and support the characters as Mary herself did, then turn to dislike them and cast them away whenever the queen was betrayed. A landscape portrait has finally been painted of history for a twentieth century reader to relate to but it is cleverly concealed in a fiction steeped with intrigue.