Hello, and a review
Hi everyone! I just joined this comm today and look forward to chatting with all of you. I belong to a bunch of other book comms because I just can't seem to get enough of talking with other people about books! I read mostly classics, mysteries, horror, and history. I don't read a lot of contemporary lit although I've been trying to expand my reading tastes a bit, just to keep up with the current reading buzz.
At any rate I just finished my first book of the year, although I've been reading it since mid-December. It was quite a tome, at almost 900 pages. Consequently this review is a little longer than I normally would submit. It was just such an expansive subject!
Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles
Margaret George
Fiction; Historical
Margaret George is so incredibly talented at writing these ‘novelized’ biographies (The Memoirs of Cleopatra, The Autobiography of King Henry VIII), it’s hard to keep in mind at times that they are novelized. That’s not to say that they aren’t factual - George’s research is fastidious, and authentic re-tellings, quotes, letters, etc. are reproduced wherever possible.
Mary Stuart is a fascinating figure, made more so because her life ended so tragically and was full of more intrigue, danger, joy and heartbreak than someone who had lived twice as long. She became Queen of Scotland only 6 days after her birth, was crowned at nine months old, betrothed to the French prince at seven and sent to France to live at court, became queen of France at age sixteen, then returned to Scotland to rule less than two years later, after the death of the sickly Dauphin. She fell in love with Lord Darnley and married him against everyone's advice, and regretted it almost immediately when his true nature came to light (she spent much of their short marriage trying to avoid his attempts to have her assassinated). She was forced to watch her Italian secretary butchered, was nearly overthrown twice by her own half-brother, and then fell in love with Lord Bothwell, a married borderlands man. Their passion is legendary, almost on the scale of Romeo and Juliet, and George really makes you feel it.
As the two of them staged her kidnapping and ‘rape’ in order to force the marriage on the people and the Lords, you just knew this girl’s life was a train wreck you couldn’t stop. When she had to escape her own Lords once again, she defied all proper procedures by landing on English shores, to plead for assistance from her cousin Elizabeth. It was not forthcoming, and Mary just found herself imprisoned again for her trouble. When King Philip of Spain sees a way he can use her to his own ends against England and Elizabeth in yet another Protestant vs. Catholic battle, it’s Mary’s final downfall. We all know how the story ends - she’s executed by the English for treason (although, it’s said, against Elizabeth’s personal wishes).
I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Mary and a little exasperated at some of her schemes and choices - the same way I would look at a younger sister and just want to shake her, saying “Girl, sit down here for a minute and let's talk!” You just want to have a heart-to-heart with her, like a mother or older sister, and that’s really what lacked in her life. Even before her mother’s death, she spent so much time away from her that they never formed that kind of relationship. She had no full sisters (there may have been some half-sisters as a result of her father’s notorious womanizing), and although she had her ladies-in-waiting, most were either younger than her or in no position to act as a guide through some of the muddier waters. Instead, she was surrounded by men, young and old, some of whom genuinely had her interests at heart but all of whom had their own agenda, and none of whom could have possibly understood the heart of a young woman in that position.
Mary Stuart's life and reign was deeply overshadowed by her more powerful and wiser cousin Elizabeth, so history has largely forgotten her. Margaret George brings her to life in the most extraordinary and moving way. It will stay with me for a long time, I think.
(sorry for the length....I promise I normally don't go on that long!)
At any rate I just finished my first book of the year, although I've been reading it since mid-December. It was quite a tome, at almost 900 pages. Consequently this review is a little longer than I normally would submit. It was just such an expansive subject!
Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles
Margaret George
Fiction; Historical
Margaret George is so incredibly talented at writing these ‘novelized’ biographies (The Memoirs of Cleopatra, The Autobiography of King Henry VIII), it’s hard to keep in mind at times that they are novelized. That’s not to say that they aren’t factual - George’s research is fastidious, and authentic re-tellings, quotes, letters, etc. are reproduced wherever possible.
Mary Stuart is a fascinating figure, made more so because her life ended so tragically and was full of more intrigue, danger, joy and heartbreak than someone who had lived twice as long. She became Queen of Scotland only 6 days after her birth, was crowned at nine months old, betrothed to the French prince at seven and sent to France to live at court, became queen of France at age sixteen, then returned to Scotland to rule less than two years later, after the death of the sickly Dauphin. She fell in love with Lord Darnley and married him against everyone's advice, and regretted it almost immediately when his true nature came to light (she spent much of their short marriage trying to avoid his attempts to have her assassinated). She was forced to watch her Italian secretary butchered, was nearly overthrown twice by her own half-brother, and then fell in love with Lord Bothwell, a married borderlands man. Their passion is legendary, almost on the scale of Romeo and Juliet, and George really makes you feel it.
As the two of them staged her kidnapping and ‘rape’ in order to force the marriage on the people and the Lords, you just knew this girl’s life was a train wreck you couldn’t stop. When she had to escape her own Lords once again, she defied all proper procedures by landing on English shores, to plead for assistance from her cousin Elizabeth. It was not forthcoming, and Mary just found herself imprisoned again for her trouble. When King Philip of Spain sees a way he can use her to his own ends against England and Elizabeth in yet another Protestant vs. Catholic battle, it’s Mary’s final downfall. We all know how the story ends - she’s executed by the English for treason (although, it’s said, against Elizabeth’s personal wishes).
I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Mary and a little exasperated at some of her schemes and choices - the same way I would look at a younger sister and just want to shake her, saying “Girl, sit down here for a minute and let's talk!” You just want to have a heart-to-heart with her, like a mother or older sister, and that’s really what lacked in her life. Even before her mother’s death, she spent so much time away from her that they never formed that kind of relationship. She had no full sisters (there may have been some half-sisters as a result of her father’s notorious womanizing), and although she had her ladies-in-waiting, most were either younger than her or in no position to act as a guide through some of the muddier waters. Instead, she was surrounded by men, young and old, some of whom genuinely had her interests at heart but all of whom had their own agenda, and none of whom could have possibly understood the heart of a young woman in that position.
Mary Stuart's life and reign was deeply overshadowed by her more powerful and wiser cousin Elizabeth, so history has largely forgotten her. Margaret George brings her to life in the most extraordinary and moving way. It will stay with me for a long time, I think.
(sorry for the length....I promise I normally don't go on that long!)