Product Description

Mary Queen of Scots passed her childhood in France and married the Dauphin to become Queen of France at the age of sixteen. Widowed less than two years later, she returned to Scotland as Queen after an absence of thirteen years. Her life then entered its best known phase: the early struggles with John Knox, and the unruly Scottish nobility; the fatal marriage to Darnley and his mysterious death; her marriage to Bothwell, the chief suspect, that led directly to her long English captivity at the hands of Queen Elizabeth; the poignant and extraordinary story of her long imprisonment that ended with the labyrinthine Babington plot to free her, and her execution at the age of forty-four.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42704 in Books
• Published on: 2009-05-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 824 pages

WATERSTONE'S BOOKS QUARTERLY
Patricia Hodge's clear diction complements Fraser's erudite prose.

Review
'In this classic, very readable biography, now available in a new edition, Antonia Fraser does full justice to a fascinating woman.' (WATERSTONES BOOKS QUARTERLY )

'More books have been written about Mary, Queen of Scots than almost any other being, yet few have matched Fraser's for elegance, sophistication and soul.' (Rosemary Goring HERALD )

'Mary's tragic story...is told with authority and compassion.' (CHOICE )

'The poignant descriptions of her long imprisonment are both moving and detailed and reveal just why the book became an international bestseller.' (HUDDERSFIELD DAILY EXAMINER )

About the Author
Antonia Fraser is the author of many widely acclaimed historical works. She was made CBE in 1999, and awarded the Norton Medlicott Medal by the Historical Association in 2000. She lives in London and is currently working on a biography of Queen Elizabeth I. She was married to Harold Pinter who died on Christmas Eve 2008 and she has eighteen grandchildren.

Customer Reviews

The Best Biography I've Ever Read
I have been fascinated by Mary, Queen of Scots, since I first heard about her in a history lesson when I was about 9 years old. I was very shocked by the fact that she was executed, partly because she was a queen and partly because she was a woman. I felt that her fate was so unfair and have never come across anything to change that vivid first impression.

I loved this book about her. Antonia Fraser really brings her subject to life, truly a 3 dimensional portrait painted in words. This book is so full of detail, none of which feels unnecessary. There is no skipping bits because they are dull and/or irrelevant. I also got the impression that Antonia Fraser liked her subject, that she too had at some time felt distressed that this woman met such a horrible end, the culmination of a life spent largely in captivity. The author does a splendid job of conveying the frustration of Mary's position as a "guest" of Queen Elizabeth I.

This book is interesting and well-written. I find that even the most interesting history books and/or biographies often have dry sections that I skim but that wasn't the case at all with this particular book. There are long discussions of the moral and political issues surrounding Mary's captivity but they are written in such a way that they engage the reader. In some ways the author had a head start, given the subject matter. Even the bare bones of Mary's story are interesting but Antonia Fraser has certainly doen her subject justice.

I think this is one of the best historical biographies I have ever read. The subject comes alive and almost jumps out of the book. By the end of this book I felt like I had known Mary all my life and overall my impression of her was favourable. The detailed description of her last moments was difficult to read such was my sympathy for the vital woman described by the author. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has even a passing interest in Mary, Queen of Scots. I have read many good books by Antonia Fraser but this one, to my mind, stands head and shoulders above the rest.

Exhaustive and exhausting
Fantastic amount of information. How did she manage to put it all together in the 1960s, before the days of word processors? But it's not an easy read, because the politics of Mary's time were complicated and it's hard to tell one of the Protestant lords from another if you don't know something about the period before you start. She does manage to bring Mary to life, though, without doing too much of the 'Mary must have thought...' or 'It probably occurred to her', which is the downfall of lesser biographers. I like the way she gets faintly exasperated by her heroine without ever falling out of sympathy with her. It makes a change from so many biographers nowadays, who devote themselves to debunking their subjects. All in all, very impressive.

The extraodinary life of an extraordinary woman.
Antonia Fraser tackles the life of Mary, Queen of Scots, in this excellent biography. Written originally in the late sixties this book details every twist and turn in the fateful Queens life. Not only does it give step by step accounts of those famous episodes in Mary's life - her 3 marriages, 2 widowhoods, incarceration by Elizabeth I and execution - but it gives the reader an insight into Mary herself. After reading this book I feel that I know a lot more about Mary's personal thoughts and what exactly made her the person she was. This is mainly in part to the excellent research by the author but the way this is brought into an easily readable script makes this book compelling without being too heavy as some big historical biographies can be. I honestly cannot believe that any other biography on Mary would better this one and for that reason alone recoomend it to anyone interested in her life. However even if, as I did, you thought you knew her story I would still recommend the book as it is a cracking good story, kept at a good pace throughout that it reads like an historical novel.
There are plenty of pictures to aid the text (although a map would of been a plus - to show locations of some the events in her life) and I learnt that Crichton castle, near where my brother used to live, has a part to play in her story which surprised me.
A must read.