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Mary Queen of Scots
  
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Mary Queen of Scots (Hardcover)

by Antonia Fraser (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 640 pages
  • Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (14 Jun 2001)
  • ISBN-10: 0297607812
  • ISBN-13: 978-0297607816
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 3,859,062 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

WATERSTONE'S BOOKS QUARTERLY

Patricia Hodge's clear diction complements Fraser's erudite prose. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Product Description

More than four hundred years after her death, Mary Queen of Scots remains one of the most romantic and controversial figures in British history. Antonia Fraser's classic biography of her won the James Tait Prize when it was first published in 1969, became an international bestseller and was translated into nine languages. Mary 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 phas: 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. Antonia Fraser's biography, four years in the writing, enters fully into the life of an historical figure who continues to capture the popular imagination, and provides a moving answer to the question, What was Mary Queen of Scots really like?' Lady Antonia Fraser tells Mary's story movingly and yet witih scholarship, insight and balance. It is the sort of biography of Mary which has long been needed.' The Scotsman A fluent narrative style, a perfect eye for physical detail, a rich sense of the black comedy that the period demands and a high feeling for the central tragedy' Sunday Times
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Customer Reviews

12 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Biography I've Ever Read, 7 Feb 2004
This review is from: Mary Queen Of Scots (Women In History) (Paperback)
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.

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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Exhaustive and exhausting, 10 Jun 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Mary Queen Of Scots (Paperback)
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.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The extraodinary life of an extraordinary woman., 24 Jan 2002
By paul_olvhoj@hotmail.com (Ipswich, Suffolk) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Mary Queen Of Scots (Paperback)
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Mary can do no wrong!
In a sense this book is a terrific read! Yet it is also extremely biased in favour of Mary of Scotland, which makes the reading somewhat unpleasant! Read more
Published 4 months ago by Christine Arabella

3.0 out of 5 stars Opinionated
A very well researched book which covers Mary's entire life. However, the author is so in love with her subject that she continually presents her own opinion as fact and tries to... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Gemma

5.0 out of 5 stars Mary Queen of Scots: Fabulous at Forty
Mary Queen Of Scots The first time I read this book was in 1973 when I was 16 years old. I was enthralled with Mary's story and read this book several times over the years along... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Anita Johansen

1.0 out of 5 stars Martyrology, not biography.
I really wish I could like this book. I am fascinated by this historical period and I was eager to read this biography and at the beginning I really liked. Read more
Published 11 months ago by K. Violi

5.0 out of 5 stars the complete life of Mary Stuart.
One or two reviewers down: Wasn't Mary thee times a widow? Bothwell died before her too, I seem to recall. Read more
Published 23 months ago by S. A. Kuipers

5.0 out of 5 stars First class biography
A magnificent biography of a woman who still courts controversy 400 years after her death. Fraser's biography is immensely sympathetic to Mary, and all the more readable for that... Read more
Published on 3 Nov 2007 by Lynette Baines

5.0 out of 5 stars What can I say? Excellent in detail, in opinion, in feeling
A very detailed yet sympathetic (for the reader) book. It offers a great deal of information while refusing to be bogged down in description. Read more
Published on 16 Feb 2002 by martin.mcnaughton@talk21.com

4.0 out of 5 stars Well written
This book gives you an excellent insight into social history of this country in Elizabethan times. Ms Fraser's book is well researched and definately well written. Read more
Published on 7 Jun 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving magificent completely absording a joy
This book is a masterpiece of scholarly work, it is also one of the most moving and compelling books I have ever read. Read more
Published on 10 April 2001

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