Mary Queen of Scots
The True Life of Mary Stuart

I've given this book 5 full stars. It took me an inordinate amount of time to finish it due to the humongous cast of characters and the tangled relationships that the Tudor and Stuart family trees exhibit. Now that the reading is done, I can say that I’m truly impressed by this luminous, expertly re......more

To say this was a sympathetic biography of Mary Queen of Scots would do an injustice to the word sympathetic. I hate to use the word hagiography but this is as close as it gets. The author is a specialist in Tudor history and is to be respected but I have come away from this very readable book, and......more

I’d planned to read this prior to the movie release, but it soon became apparent with the level of in-depth research on a complicated period in British history that I wouldn’t finish this in time. That’s a massive compliment to the author, it’s a time that I’m overly familiar with and with each chapt......more

In a word, this book is brilliant! The breadth of research and expertise in writing makes this the best book I have read in quite a while. John Guy plumbed the depths of the archives to discover new evidence about Mary and constructed a great book. His attention to detail and writing ability makes i......more

Interesting insight on what Mary was really like but the author is VERY biased in her favour and bends over backwards to show her in a favourable light, often to the detriment of others. I wonder how he feels about the recent revelations by medical historians that for it to be apparent that Mary had......more