Mary Stuart was born in Scotland in Lithgow Castle in 1542. Her mother was Mary of Guise. Her father was King James V of Scotland. She was also the great niece of Henry VIII of England. Her father died when she was six days old, and she was made Queen of Scotland. She married Francis, Dauphin of France, but he died shortly after their marriage from an ear infection that went to his brain. She returned to Scotland where she married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, her half cousin. They had one child together, James. Lord Darnley was murdered, and Mary was blamed for that. She was kidnapped, probably raped, and then married one of the men who likely raped her, Bothwell. Unfortunately, her religious views and other reasons led to a general disapproval from the people and those who were power hungry and did not want a woman for a monarch. She was forced to abdicate her throne and flee. She was placed on house arrest in England under the protection of Elizabeth I, but was accused of plotting to take the English throne. She was executed for that, and her body was buried in England after her request to be buried in France was refused.

I was really interested in the story of Mary after getting into the show Reign on CW a few years back. Antonia Fraser is on of my favorite female historians, so I figured this would be a great book to read. I thought the research was well done, and even though it was a large book (I have the hardback version) it was never boring or dull. I learned a lot about her life and got to compare the show for historical accuracy. I enjoyed this book very much.