Mary Queen of Scots

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I did not know very much Scottish history and it presented an intriguing background for me causing a,need to know more!! The constant infighting between royal factions, the constant search for marriage partners, and the constant arguing about whose in charge would leave one exhausted.. I am amazed that France, England,Spain and Scotland could function as governments at all. I was intrigued more and more with each chapter to see how Mary was going t o pull This one off!!! I praise her loyal servants and unabashed commitment to her Catholic faith. Although it takes commitment to read the book as there can be very long narratives at times, I believe any true history buff will want to be read Mary Queen of Scott' t is well worth any European history buff to check it out.

After watching three seasons of Reign on the CW, I decided to learn about the real Mary Stuart. And oh my goodness - her real life is SO much more interesting than that show! This is a very enlightening book on the life of the Scottish Queen, as well as the people who surrounded her during her lifetime. I highly recommend. The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five is that the author frequently quotes French letters and poems and such without providing a translation until the end of the chapter. That might not be a big deal in paperback, but it sure was annoying on the kindle.

I initially purchased this book because I have been a fan of the series 'Reign', a fictionalized portrayal of Mary, and really wanted to see how the show matched up to history (despite the naysayers, a lot of it is true, but that's a different story). What I had intended as a comparison piece on historical fact actually turned into a page-turning, complex tale about a woman caught in the confines of duty and circumstance. There were times reading this book that I felt so emotionally attached to the titular figure that I was left, as the front of the book predicts, very moved. Fraser is a master historian, researcher and storyteller, and I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this book. As she often does, Fraser includes so much more than the average person would ever need to know about the Scottish queen, but that helped me personally understand her motives and intentions all the more. Though I did find a woman much different that 'Reign's lead heroine, I met an historical figure that will forever entrance, and enchant, me.

i am reviewing the physical book, Mary, Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser. as another commenter pointed out, some of these reviews do not appear to be for Fraser's book. some complained the book was too long. my copy is 555 pages long, not including the casket letters. i don't know how that constitutes a long book. another commenter stated the book was biased against Mary and held up Elizabeth as the glorious queen. that has to be a different book because Antonia Fraser is incredibly sympathetic to Mary and details at great length how she could NOT have been an adulterer with Bothwell, how she could NOT have known about the plot against Darnley, how the Casket letters were forged, and how she faced her death with great courage and dignity. i don't know what everyone else is reading, but if you're interested in the subject, start with Fraser's book. it's a fascinating tale of the very traumatic and sad life of this woman. i found it very moving and want to learn more about this period in history. thank you Ms. Fraser.

It probably is unfair to compare the writing styles of Fraser and her counterpart, Alison Weir, but having just read what seems like a mountain of books by both of them, I can't help but do so and find Fraser ahead on some points, behind on others. Fraser has a methodical style wherein each sentence is so cram-packed with detail that her books probably improve on their second or third readings. She takes a comprehensive, relatively non-biased look at her subject here and provides an interesting biography of a woman who has been characterized as everything from a near saint to a scheming, treasonous viper who deserved her eventual beheading. While Weir seems to take the position that Elizabeth I was some beloved angel who eventually had to sully her hands and cut off the head of her cousin for national security, I think the truth is somewhere else, as does Fraser. In terms of historical accuracy, I think Fraser probably has the edge over Weir, notwithstanding both authors' impeccable research. Weir allows story to take precedence over fact, something that doesn't seem to happen as much with Fraser. Which brings me to my list of quibbles with this book. Fraser may write factually, but in doing so, she comes thisclose to having written a book every bit as dry as the ones I steered clear of in school. It was torture to get through some of the passages and I put the book down more than once, not to pick it up again for days. I wasn't compelled to finish the book and find out the rest of the story the way I was with Weir's. My second issue was with all of the passages in untranslated languages, French primarily. A few years ago, I'd say I spoke French fluently, but even I had to look up some of the phrases here. It wouldn't have hurt the narrative to provide a parenthetical translation for those of us not fluent in multiple languages who don't feel like getting up to run the thing through Babelfish. Intended or not, it gave the author an air of arrogance and was my main stumbling block to enjoying this book as fully as I wanted to. Overall, it was a detailed biography, probably as accurate as anything else that's out there, without the apparent author bias that's seen in Weir's book. This is not easy reading though; the story is unevenly written, overly laden with minutiae where it's not necessary and filled with passages and important comments that a lot of people won't even be able to decipher without help. I'd give it 4 stars for credibility, 2 for accessibility, for a final 3 stars overall.

Antonia Fraser's Mary Queen of Scots is an amazing historical account of the full life of a woman in the Renaissance who -while born into her position-had to overcome limitations placed on her due to her sex. While non-fiction, Mary Queen of Scots is so engrossing, you read it like a novel. I keep it on my shelf with my favorite historical fiction. If you have not read it yet, give yourself this gift. You will learn and be entertained all the while.

This is the second time I have read this book, the first being some years ago. It is even better the second time around. Every aspect of Mary's life is covered, from her childhood marriage to the French king, to her long imprisonment as her cousin, Queen Elizabeth's captive. The only thing I would quarrel with is the depiction of Bess of Hardwick, the Countess of Shrewsbury. She and her husband were in an impossible situation. Commanded to keep Mary captive by the English queen, they were aware that at any moment, the tables would turn, and Mary would become Queen of England. It was a difficult balancing act they had to do. Although the two queens never met, they were constantly in each other's thoughts. Elizabeth hesitated to kill Mary, yet each moment she lived, she posed a threat. She was a rallying point for conspiracy, and she knew it. She didn't have Elizabeth's guile or wariness at putting herself in danger. Ultimately, Elizabeth bowed to the inevitable and signed her death warrent. Now nearly 500 years later, she continues to weave a web of enchantment. Her final words, 'In me end is my beginning,' prove to be prophetic.

Fascinating, thorough details of the life of the Queen of Scots. I greatly enjoyed the manner in which the author presents numerous perspectives to a quote or event. It is not a leisurely read, but it is a scholarly and detailed biography of Queen Mary and of the conflicts in Europe at the time.

L'autrice è certamente un personaggio brillante e geniale, distintasi non solo come storica, che in quanto tale ha messo a frutto, credo, una formazione accademica specifica di tutto rispetto, ma anche come scrittrice di testi letterari. Questa biografia è accurata, ben scritta per quanto il mio modesto inglese mi lasci apprezzare, e soprattutto - aspetto per me fondamentale - abbastanza particolareggiata e mai "tirata via". Il pregiudizio favorevole del biografo verso il biografato si sente ma non è troppo pesante ed anzi induce a riflessioni più ampie sul contesto di tempi ancora oscuri e di ambienti persino primitivi. Così che si è indotti a sincera compassione per una protagonista, tanto letterariamente sfruttata, che forse fu un poco vittima anche di sé stessa, ma perché si trovò imprigionata in una di quelle "gabbie ideologiche" (il senso della dinastia, l'origine divina del potere regio) di cui la storia è disseminata e da cui è ben difficile uscire. Forse la figura della rivale Elisabetta avrebbe meritato un abbozzo più strutturato, ma ciò è compatibile con la metodologia biografica. Nel complesso, una biografia che vale la pena di leggere.

The Scottish lady loved the story even though she naturally knows the history, and with a tear in her eye, and said it was an excellent read and easy to follow, of a very sad bit of Scottish history. She finished the book in two weeks. it being so good and captivating.

A rich and detailed account on the life of Mary Queen of Scots, but still it is very easy to read and difficult to put down. There are so many things we learn about the context, the states of minds of the protagonists, and a presentation of each point of views concerning some events (for example about the abduction of Mary). We can imagine easily the life of the real Mary, not the myth, which presents her as a very bad decision-maker, albeit a passionate one, and completely enamoured about Bothwell (well, here there is not the romantic story we can expect). It's not all about Mary vs Elizabeth, or Mary vs the reformed religion ("good vs bad"). here, we have a much more complex story, which makes it all the more enjoyable to read. I totally recommand it!

スコットランドに行ったとき、いたるところで聞いたのがメアリー女王の名前。どんな女王だったのか興味をもって本作を読んでみました。大変よく調べてある大作で、興味があれば面白く読めると思います。生まれながらにしてスコットランド女王でありながら、フランス王太子の婚約者でもあり、幼いときからフランスの宮廷で育ったメアリーは帝王教育も受け、何不自由ない華やかな少女時代を送ったようです。ところが夫の早世によってスコットランドへ戻ってからは運命が狂い始め、ついに追われるようにしてスコットランドを出て選んだ行き先がフランスでなくイングランドだったのが致命的でした。フランスに戻っていれば暖かく迎えられ、幸せな再婚をして子供にも恵まれたかもしれません。彼女自身も幾度となくそう考えたことでしょう。カトリックとプロテスタントの争いなど宗教の果たした役割、当時の人がどう思っていたかなど大変興味深く読みました。エリザベス女王も彼女の処刑をめぐっては葛藤があり、冷酷に死刑を命じたわけではなかったようで、次はこちらの伝記を読んでみます。特に初めのほうにフランス語の部分が多々あるのですが、なぜか英訳がついてない。それで☆4つ。

Perfecto! Producto entregado antes de lo esperado y en perfecto estado. Lectura fácil, rápida e ideal.