The Memoirs of Mary Queen of Scots

Nine years apart in age, cousins Elizabeth I and Mary, were diametrically different. While older than Elizabeth, Mary was the immature one. While Elizabeth was serious, Mary was silly While Elizabeth was auspicious, Mary was absurd While Elizabeth was clever, Mary was foolish While Elizabeth possessed a great deal of political knowledge and intelligence, Mary was ignorant While Elizabeth was cunning, Mary was reckless While Elizabeth was calm and calculating, Mary was impetuous When writing historical fiction, Carolly Erickson does a very credible job. I've read a lot about both Elizabeth and Mary and despite some glaring inaccuracies, I would recommend this book. Unlike some authors who portray Mary as a helpless victim, Erickson paints a very realistic portrait of the empty headed woman who ruled with her heart and was vastly different from the calm, cool Elizabeth who ruled with her head. Their story is a set of dominoes with each event placed one after the other, setting into motion an inevitable ending. This is a story of two women whose fate seemed destined to cross from the time of their birth. One kept her head and heart, the other lost both.

I'm supervised by the negative reviews of this book. This book is called "historical FICTION, for a reason. We all know the major points of what happened to poor Mary but the author decided to fill in the blanks with some fun, made up stories. I read this book in two days and thoroughly enjoyed it. If you're looking for historical fiction then this book is for you. If you're looking for factual history look somewhere else and prepare to be bored.

Showtime promotes their epic series, The Tutors, by stating, "You know how it ends, now find out how it began." The same is true for Carolly Erickson's latest historical novel, The Memoirs of Mary Queen of Scots. The book does not focus just on the intrigues of Mary Stuart's later years. Instead it presents a fuller portrait of the woman who was for a time Queen of France and Scotland and who is a direct ancestor of the current British monarch. There is a reason that Erickson refers to her non-fiction works as "historical entertainments". After a long successful career as a writer of non-fiction histories and biographies, she understands that nearly every historical figure had areas of gray in their life. Often it is an obscure childhood or another period when they are out of the public eye. Erickson skillfully uses her insights and imagination to illuminate these gray periods in a way that is natural, appropriate and, best of all, entertaining for her readers. History tells us that Mary Stuart was a prisoner in England for over twenty years. Erickson tells her readers maybe not for the whole twenty years. At its heart, The Memoirs of Mary Queen of Scots, is the love story of Jamie and his Orange Blossom. Jamie is the Queen's third husband, James Hepburn, the earl of Bothwell, and Orange Bloom is his pet name for the Queen. They meet when a fifteen-year-old Mary is the wife of the sickly young French king. The reader sees their relationship grow from the devotion of a loyal subject for his queen to the passion of a man for his true love. The book, told in the first person as a memoir, moves at a brisk pace. However, there are times when the reader may wish Mary had taken a little time to reflect on the events happening around her. Several murders with historical significance are dispatched quickly with limited comment. It might have been nice to get more into Mary's head in this novel. Like a number of fictional books and movies of the tragic queen's life, Memoirs includes an imagined meeting between Mary and her royal cousin, Elizabeth I. Mary is the heroine of this piece, so that makes Elizabeth the villain. The reader might wonder at Elizabeth doing her own dirty work, but again this is entertainment. As with her non-fiction, Erickson has a gift of dropping in small details here and there--the feel of a fabric, the taste of a meal, or something else so authentic that the reader imagines they are reading a true first-hand account. By the end of the novel, we finally know how Mary lived and loved, which makes the well-known ending even more heartbreaking. Review from MyRomanceStory.com [...]

In Erickson's telling of the private life of Mary, Queen of Scots, the Scottish queen is a victim of circumstances, from her marriage at fifteen to the King of France, her short rule of Scotland, the enmity of the Protestant Reformist John Knox, an impulsive third marriage to a commoner, her trust in her cousin, Queen Elizabeth of England until her throne is restored and eventually her execution by that cousin at the age of forty-four. I have no doubt that this author intends to personalize her protagonist, to add a human dimension to Mary's life. Unfortunately, this narrative suggests a young woman raised in court and around the intricacies of politics who acquires little political acumen, easily led by her emotions in lieu of substantial political advice. After the untimely death of the King of France, Mary flees to Scotland where, as rightful queen, she impulsively weds Lord Darnley, a man suspected of being one of Elizabeth's loyal supporters and thus distrusted by the people. Her lack of judgment in this marriage is prophetic, although the union does produce an heir, James Stuart. But in an era when Elizabeth retains her throne at any cost while expanding the power of England, Mary's lack of governance is critically deficient. A rudderless queen, Mary turns once more to a man, sharing her kingdom with James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, a commoner who is as unacceptable to her subjects as was Darnley. The result is the stuff of novels, a foolish queen who trusts her ambitious cousin, plots against that same royal cousin and loses her life as a consequence. My problem with this treatment is its lack of substance and detail. There is considerable religious strife, the Protestant Reformation and the Counter-Reformation, the sway of John Knox in inciting the people against Mary, Lord Darnley's death and Elizabeth's tortured decision to remove Mary as a threat to her throne. I certainly expected Mary to be more formidable, and perhaps she was, but not in this rendering. Whether Mary is the true heir to the English throne by blood is a moot point in a political terrain that requires strong leadership. Erickson captures the naiveté and confusion of a very young woman thrust onto the world stage, but it is Mary's imperfections that render her less impressive as a ruler, the human flaws so fatal to a queen. But the essential ingredient, a real sense of time, place and personality is lacking in this novel, a queen victim rather than master of her fate. Luan Gaines/2009.