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Immortal Queen: Mary Queen of Scots

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This is a stirring, well written work of historical fiction about Mary, Queen of Scots. Drawing a three dimensional portrait of this tragic queen, whose reign was all too short, the author sets the mood for the turbulent time and place that was sixteenth century Scotland, replete with intrigues and almost unimaginable skulduggery. It was there that the beautiful Mary was to confront a certain duality in her nature that would see her rule Scotland with her heart, rather than with her head.

Mary was a woman who had the capacity to enslave men's hearts with her luminous beauty and inspire great loyalty in her friends with her innate charm and kindness. She went to Scotland to reclaim her throne after the deaths of her husband, Francois, the King of France, and of her mother, Marie de Guise, who had been Regent of Scotland on Mary's behalf.

In protestant Scotland, Mary was to be confronted by fire and brimstone preacher, John Knox, an ardent Calvinist, who would brook no tolerance towards papists. Mary, an ardent Catholic and well-educated woman, wanted everyone to worship as their conscience dictated. Her benevolent posture and entreaties for religious tolerance fell upon the deaf ears of the rigid John Knox, a fundamentalist fanatic of the worst sort, who would prove to be the bane of Mary's existence.

Moreover, her older half-brother, James Stuart, was a cold and calculating man of great ambition whose bastardy was the only thing standing in his way of claiming the crown of Scotland for himself. The book reveals his perfidy and the machinations that he set into play in order to obtain by stealth and intrigue what was Mary's by right. He would secretly work with the English, as well as with the Lords of the Congregation of Scotland, to ensure that he would eventually be the power behind the throne.

Meanwhile, Mary would enter into a disastrous marriage with Lord Darnley, a dissolute, though devastatingly handsome, catholic member of the English nobility. This marriage was to set the stage for a number of violent, heinous acts that would traumatize Mary and set her upon a course for which there would be no turning back. This most unhappy queen would ultimately give birth to their son, James, the future King of Scotland, under the most difficult of circumstances.

Her relationship with dashing James Hepburn, the Earl of Bothwell, her third and last husband, would prove to be her undoing. The book explores this relationship in great detail, in all its tumultuousness and passion. It delineates the events that led up to their marriage, and Mary's own complicity in them. Eventually, the decisions that Mary would make at this difficult time in her life would render her the captive Queen of Scots and set her on the royal road to Fotheringay Castle in England, where she would be sentenced to death by her wily cousin, Elizabeth I.

The author's interpretation of the major events in Mary's life makes for fascinating reading, as Mary comes alive on the pages of this book, a compassionate and vibrant, flesh and blood woman. It is simply masterful storytelling at its best. Readers will find themselves riveted to the pages of this beautifully written, well-researched work of historical fiction. This is a book that even the most discerning reader will enjoy.

After reading this book, I was so facinated by Mary of Scotland that I read every book about her that I could get my hands on, both fiction and non-fiction. "Immortal Queen" was still the best of them all. I have probably read it 6 or 7 times. Unfortunately, I lost my paperback copy. Hopefully, I will be able to get it from an online book vendor because I would love to read it again.

This is a stirring, well written work of historical fiction about Mary, Queen of Scots. Drawing a three dimensional portrait of this tragic queen, whose reign was all too short, the author sets the mood for the turbulent time and place that was sixteenth century Scotland, replete with intrigues and almost unimaginable skulduggery. It was there that the beautiful Mary was to confront a certain duality in her nature that would see her rule Scotland with her heart, rather than with her head.
Mary was a woman who had the capacity to enslave men's hearts with her luminous beauty and inspire great loyalty in her friends with her innate charm and kindness. She went to Scotland to reclaim her throne after the deaths of her husband, Francois, the King of France, and of her mother, Marie de Guise, who had been Regent of Scotland on Mary's behalf.

In protestant Scotland, Mary was to be confronted with fire and brimstone preacher, John Knox, an ardent calvinist, who would brook no tolerance towards papists. Mary, an ardent catholic and well educated woman, wanted everyone to worship as their conscience dictated. Her benevolent posture and entreaties for religious tolerance fell upon the deaf ears of the rigid John Knox, a fundamentalist fanatic of the worst sort, who would prove to be the bane of Mary's existence.

Moreover, her older half-brother, James Stuart, was a cold and calculating man of great ambition whose bastardy was the only thing standing in his way of claiming the crown of Scotland for himself. The book reveals his perfidy and the machinations that he set into play in order to obtain by stealth and intrigue what was Mary's by right. He would secretly work with the English, as well as with the Lords of the Congregation of Scotland, to ensure that he would eventually be the power behind the throne.

Meanwhile, Mary would enter into a disastrous marriage with Lord Darnley, a dissolute, though devastatingly handsome, catholic member of the English nobility. This marriage that was to set the stage for a number of violent, heinous acts that were to traumatize Mary and set her upon a course for which there would be no turning back. This most unhappy queen would ultimately give birth to their son, James, the future King of Scotland, under the most difficult of circumstances.

Her relationship with dashing James Hepburn, the Earl of Bothwell, her third and last husband, would prove to be her undoing. The book explores this relationship in great detail, in all its tumultuousness and passion. It delineates the events that led up to their marriage, and Mary's own complicity in them. Eventually, the decisions that Mary would make at this difficult time in her life would render her the captive Queen of Scots and set her on the royal road to Fotheringay Castle in England, where she would be sentenced to death by her wily cousin, Elizabeth I.

The author's interpretation of the major events in Mary's life makes for fascinating reading, as Mary comes alive on the pages of this book, a compassionate and vibrant, flesh and blood woman. It is simply masterful storytelling at its best. Readers will find themselves riveted to the pages of this beautifully written, well researched work of historical fiction. This is a book that even the most discerning reader will enjoy.

I came upon this book at a library completely by accident. It is a historical novel about Mary Stuart, starting with her life in France as a child and ending with her execution. It is extremely well written and accurate, as far as I can tell. It reads like a very good novel and draws you in to a point where you don't want to put it down - even though you know what's going to happen. It gives great insights into Mary's life and personality. It actually made me feel somewhat sympathetic towards Mary (which I didn't prior to reading this book) - at least it made me sort of understand where she was coming from and why she did the things she did. IMO, this is one of the best books, fiction or non-fiction, I ever read about Mary Queen of Scots!

I won't go into all the inaccuracies here. Very fun to read, but please follow it up with the real story via Alison Weir or another reputable historian.