"Are you Mary, Queen of Scots?" "I am." (hack-hack, chop-chop) aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh! (hack, chop...)
Written: Jul 06 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Oh, so much more than the Monty Python version...
Cons: 608 pages...
The Bottom Line: This is a truly engaging story about a pivotal figure living in an era of watershed changes. What more could you ask for?
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| mothra3's Full Review: John Guy - Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary S... |
When mentioning to friends and relatives that I was reading a very interesting book about Mary Queen of Scots, I got many varied responses:
“oh yes, Bloody Mary…”
(No, that’s her cousin once removed, Mary Tudor…);
“Wasn’t she murdered by one of Queen Elizabeth’s advisors?”
(Not exactly—that movie Elizabeth with Cate Blanchett wasn’t very historically accurate…);
“Didn’t she get hacked to pieces?”
(You’d think that from the Monty Python sketch, but that’s stretching it a bit…).
I have to say that one reaction I didn’t get was a blank stare.
As the author of this book, John Guy, aptly puts it:
“In England and throughout the English-speaking world, Mary is known to almost everyone, even if they do not realize why.”
I myself was counted in this category until I saw this book on the “new nonfiction” shelf at my local public library. (It’s really ingenious how they put them right by the entrance so you can’t miss them!) I knew she suffered a bloody death after being kept in captivity for years, but in all the movies and documentaries about Queen Elizabeth, Mary’s story is only alluded to—glossed over—so I never knew any more about her than that.
And it is a story worth telling. I am loath to give away any details, because it’s really the whole package that makes this book so interesting. What do I mean by that?
The Woman
She, like Elizabeth, is the portrait of a powerful woman in a man’s world. It is both her greatest strength and her greatest downfall.
The Age
This story provides a rare portal into a turbulent era—one experiencing the growing pains of the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation. Where both sides demand all or nothing, compromise is a risky solution.
Royalty: Politics, Glamour or Both?
Guy provides an interesting insight into the role of Royals (and their politics of Marriage) in the post-Medieval world. Many of the things that had until then been taken for granted were no longer so: The Protestant Reformation had taught people two radical ideas: to think for themselves, and to rebel against the Pope’s authority. These two are dynamite, setting the stage for the end of Divine-right Monarchy as an unquestioned system of government.
The Author
John Guy is not just any historian; he’s an authority on Tudor England, so much so that he has his own website, Tudors.org, which presents much of his cutting-edge research on the subject. Before becoming a fellow at Cambridge, he was the provost and professor of history at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. He lives and breathes this stuff, and it shows.
The Research
Guy went back to primary sources—the original documents—to find new, ignored and forgotten clues about Mary’s life, particularly her letters and those written about her. This is no historical novel. With Descendancy Charts, Maps, Timelines, Photos and no less than 80 pages devoted to notes, bibliography, and a complete index, he has done his homework many times over. He presents her story factually and as devoid of historical bias as possible.
The Story
But who would read the exactly 500 pages if it were all dry, boring, well-cited and catalogued facts? Guy has a talent for narrative and engages the reader in Mary’s story. He pitches you into the turmoil that is her life from birth and makes you truly sympathize with her, regardless of the fact that this was nearly 500 years ago. What is it about her that made her so important in the 1500s, so much so that she is still remembered today (even if inaccurately)?
This question is the entire crux of the book, and if you want it answered, well, you’ll just have to read it, won’t you?
This review is my entry into spiderkid’s Great British Write-Off (finally, a write-off that involves an actual review!). In a fit of pique against us insensitive dolts (Americans, that is…), he has challenged us to write a review about something “inherently British.” So while the book itself was not actually published in Great Britain, I thought that both the author and the subject matter would do nevertheless. Cheers, Tom.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
mothra3
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Location: oblivion, awaiting a heroic rescue
Reviews written: 48
Trusted by: 27 members
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Loss of mind now complete. I am, however, feeling much better...
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