Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles

I am presently about half way through this tome and, to my horror, it has morphed into a simpering, predictable harlequin-type romance. I will likely finish reading this book but only with the hope that I can learn something new about Mary.

This is a very long book--it takes Mary literally from the cradle to the grave. Nonetheless, it reads quickly and holds the reader's attention; I seldom found myself skimming. Most of the novel is told by a third-person narrator, although there are some long stretches of journal-writing by Mary in the last fifth or so. Though Mary's viewpoint is the predominant one, the narrator occasionally travels to Elizabeth I's court and into the minds of various other characters as well, including Darnley, Bothwell, and sundry ill-fated spies. Certainly the outstanding quality of this historical novel is George's ability to draw characters. Mary herself is depicted sympathetically without ever being idealized; at crucial times in her life, there's almost always someone to tell her that she's making a mistake, and she listens to them far too seldom. More important, George avoids making caricatures of figures such as Darnley and John Knox. The latter is especially well rounded; harsh as he is on the pulpit, we also see glimpses of him as a loving husband and father. George has a nice eye for small detail, as when Mary on the last evening of her life prays, only to be distracted by her dog thumping his tail. "It was that everyday sound, the summation of all the everyday things she was leaving, that brought tears to her eyes." I did have some reservations here and there. One of the few parts of the novel I found myself skimming was that detailing the love affair between Mary and Bothwell, where the dialogue takes on a decidedly hackneyed tone. When Bothwell uttered the line, "'Put your arms around me, and whatever happens, do not let go,'" I found myself anticipating the couple's impending separation not at all with regret. Earlier, a three-way sex scene between Darnley, Riccio, and a prostitute struck me as gratuitous, since it had no influence on later events and didn't enlighten us about the characters of those involved, except to show that Riccio could rise to an occasion, so to speak. But these are minor quibbles and didn't spoil what I thought was an excellent read. It's interesting, by the way, to compare this novel to Reay Tannahill's Fatal Majesty. The novels take entirely different views of such issues as the authenticity of the Casket Letters and of the circumstances behind the marriage of Mary and Bothwell, yet as I was reading each novel, I was convinced by the case each author made, even while being aware of the possibility of a different interpretation.

Margaret George has rescued Mary from the history books and brought her to life as a vibrant, compelling, and astonishingly modern heroine. This Mary talks and thinks like a modern woman, yet her actions are absolutely true to the spirit of the times and the known facts about her life. Sometimes the language is a bit too modern, as when Mary describes her gorgeous husband Lord Darnley as "looking good enough to eat" during their wedding feast. And the sex scenes leave absolutely nothing to the imagination! Even after Darnley begins to drink too much and make trouble, Mary makes excuses for him, crying in secret and confiding to the reader, "even when I knew the truth -- to my shame and against my will -- I still wanted him. In truth I burned for him." Mary may never have said this, but her actions make it clear how hard it was for her to break with the cruel but very handsome Darnley. George reveals every detail of Mary's daily life, right down to the perfume she used and her lazy mornings in bed. It's very revealing when Bothwell -- Mary's next husband after Darnley -- comes into her room unannounced one morning and tells her she needs to "get off your backside and rule, lass. The people need a queen, not a sleeping statue!" Mary thinks she is through with love, but Bothwell insists on marrying her to protect her from the plots and treachery of the other nobles -- the ones who murdered Lord Darnley. Much to her own surprise, Mary goes from fearing Bothwell to enjoying his company, sharing his bed willingly and even crying in his arms when he is forced to leave her at the end. "Rough he was, plain talking and without grace -- but true to me, always. And in his own way, tender." Some reviewers complain that George spends too much time on the sad years of Mary's life -- when she was a prisoner in England, locked up at the command of her "dearest friend" Elizabeth. But the details of her captivity are interesting, and even glamorous -- secret visits from spies, messages written in code. The only good thing to say about Queen Elizabeth is that she never put Mary in a dungeon. Mary describes it as "the most luxurious time of my life -- and the hardest to bear." Given her comfortable apartments, you can see why she sleeps till noon on days when there's really nothing to do. You can also see why she mentions "the mineral baths, the soothing waters that helped me forget" since she really needed relaxation. Mary was quite modern in some ways. She believed in mineral baths, and also massage, as being good for her health. She loved exercise in the open air, and she mentions several times that "after an open air gallop on horseback, very exhilarating, and a good long dunking in the water, the firm hands of my maids would readily coax the soreness from my muscles. Indeed I often forgot my worries entirely, and slept like a babe." The final section is not that dull, really. Just more quiet. And Elizabeth, to her credit, seems to have wanted Mary to b

In this wonderful read, George does her best to use historical fact to explain some of the childish behaviour of Queen Mary of Scots. She begins when Mary is born. The book follows her to France and through the death of her first husband. It follows her from Queen of France to Queen of Scotland. George explains the strife between Queen Elizabeth and Mary, explains Mary's suspicion in her second husband's death, explains the rumour that her child (later to be King James) was from the wrong side of the sheets. A very catholic woman she managed to cause revolutions, mismanage a country, be kidnapped multiple times, have a world famous affair and adventually lose her head for loving the wrong man. This is a must read!! Only slightly better than George's Henry VIII and equally as good as Cleopoatra. This is a thick book...something to last the most avid reader at least a week.

The Editorial Review does a magnificent job at describing this book, so I need not duplicate. My comments are limited to how much I truly enjoyed reading this book and learning of the details of the life of Mary, Queen of Scotland. After reading the book, it was weeks before I could put her day-to-day life, and death, out of my mind. If you enjoy history, written in novel format, you will love this book. I read it in one week and am just about to delve into Margaret George's "Henry VIII" book...and then her book on "Cleopatra". I LOVE THIS AUTHOR'S STYLE!