Mary Queen of Scots

I read this book many years ago, but I went back to it as my first port of call when I began to research my own book on Mary. It’s a fantastically readable, detailed, and sympathetic portrait of Mary. And the sympathetic bit was important to me. It’s almost impossible not to take sides when reading or writing about Mary, and she did make some disastrous decisions, but I keep coming back to how young she was, and that’s well illustrated here.

I am truly excited to recommend this stunning biography of Mary Stuart – one of my very favourite historical figures – whose incredible story is vividly brought to life by Dame Antonia Fraser, one of my very favourite authors,  such that the reader will experience each dramatic step of Mary’s path to immortality.

I love the complexity of the tale – and of Mary herself. It’s difficult to remember that this is a true story: Mary was literally born Queen of Scotland, mere days after her father’s death. Having spent most of her early life in France, becoming Queen of… show more.