Mary, Queen Of Scots: Queen Without A Country, France, 1553 (2002) - Plot & Excerpts
Mary, Queen of Scots / 0-439-19404-0This Royal Diary is, in many ways, one of the most touching entries in the series. Mary, the young Queen of Scotland, has been living in France, in a sort of 'pleasant' exile, far from her home, her country, and her loving mother. Bright, cheerful, and healthy, she frets for her young fiance, a sickly boy who she has come to regard as a friend, if not necessarily the most desirable of suitors. Though she is a Queen, she is without a court beyond her four dearest friends (all also named 'Mary'), and she has no power within the vicious court of Queen Catherine de Medici, whose consorting with sorcerers and facility with poisons covers the court with a dark cloud of fear and suspicion.Though I knew little of Mary before delving into this diary, outside of her unfortunately short life and unenviable demise, I found her fictional representation to be immediately and intensely likable. Though she tries hard to be regal and to keep a good-temperament, Mary understandably mourns for the loss of her mother and country, wishing that her exile could be over, or at least temporarily suspended. She handles herself with verve and determination, standing up to rude ladies-in-waiting, outwitting the conniving Queen Catherine, and valiantly standing up for one of her 'dear Marys', when the young woman is inappropriately and forcibly pursued by their music instructor. This part of the novel, in particular, is very powerful, as Mary explores her frustration with people who refuse to believe a girl when she is being molested, and with the necessity of catching the culprit publicly in order to have him dismissed from court. The young woman who seeks to avoid these attacks stays silent out of fear, but learns that trusting her friends and loved ones with the horrible truth lifts a weight from her shoulders and allows them to save her, a lesson that all parents will want to teach their children - that if someone is trying to hurt you, it is always the best, safest thing to tell someone you trust.Factually, "Mary, Queen of Scots" is slightly more problematic. Lasky presents Nostradamus (one of the Queen's sorcerers) in a more favorable light than is probably technically correct - making him into a sort of lovable savior who rescues Mary from death and seems wholly unmotivated by the money the Queen lavished upon him. It would, I think, have been more beneficial to have dealt a bit more fairly with such a controversial historical figure, rather than the wholly one-sided view we see here. On the other hand, Lasky is surprisingly gentle with Queen Catherine, depicting Mary as struggling mightily with the "sin" of her distaste for the woman, deciding that it is just the fact that they are two queens under one roof that is the problem, as opposed to - for example - the Queen's rumored propensity for poison and murder.All of which to say, definitely pick up "Mary, Queen of Scots" for an engaging read and an interesting dip into this fascinating character and the history surrounding her, but I would definitely recommend expanding your research into something a bit more historically factual after first whetting your appetite with this novel.~ Ana Mardoll
This is a simple tale of a complex woman. There is nothing in depth about this book and I skimmed parts that seemed boring and trite.Mary was six days old when her father, King James V of Scotland, died on the battlefield. At nine months of age, she was crowned queen of Scotland.This book does not focus on the complexity of her tragic life, rather it reflects the time period when, as a very young child, she was sent to France to live in the court of King Henry II. An alliance was formed to wed Mary to King Henry's son Frances.At eleven years of age she was care free when living in various palaces of the King. Her future husband Frances was her dear childhood friend. The book focuses on this idyllic time of her life.While I cannot highly recommend this book, there were interesting portions, including the descriptions of Queen Catherine de'Medici and King Henry's infamous mistress Diane de Poitiers.As always, when reading historical fiction, I'm lead down a path to study other figures. I'll look for more information regarding Diane de Poitiers. She appears to have been a fascinating woman.
What do You think about Mary, Queen Of Scots: Queen Without A Country, France, 1553 (2002)?
Mary Queen of Scots was a fascinating historical figure and I think that in some ways, Queen Without a Country does her justice. On the other hand, objectively speaking, it wasn’t the best book I’ve ever read. I’ll talk about the latter first.Throughout the whole book, Kathryn Lasky seemed to be trying to get at something, hinting at some greater meaning. Yet at the end of everything, all we see is a stereotypical, predictable ‘ending’ that shows Mary’s ingenuity but doesn’t leave the reader with that message. It feels incomplete, partly because Kathryn Lasky was hinting at Mary reconciling with Queen Catherine, but she never really did. Of course, being a diary of a woman who continued to live for many years afterward, you can’t expect it to be a perfectly wrapped up ending. But there was still something…lacking.Mary herself was an interesting character, but not exactly memorable. Still, Kathryn Lasky did do Mary the historical figure justice with her portrayal of a headstrong, resourceful, intelligent young woman. One thing I found odd, however, was the lack of mention about Mary’s religion. Mary was relatively pious, spending the last few hours before her execution praying, but religion seems not to be a big feature in Queen Without a Country. I’m not complaining, but it does seem a bit strange considering religion played such a big role in everyone’s daily lives in the 16th century.Overall, Kathryn Lasky’s portrayal of Mary Queen of Scots was decent and her writing was okay, but nothing more. There was really nothing to distinguish her book from the many others in The Royal Diaries.I give this book 3.5/5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars for Goodreads rating purposes.
—Carrie Slager
I had to study Mary Queen of Scots during my English lit courses and I must say that I find this period of history incredibly confusing (so many Marys) because of that this isn't my favorite Royal Diaries book, but it is still somewhat interesting to consider that these famous figures were children at one point and forced to grow up in a hurry for the sake of their country. The epilogue was so short given the historical influence she had so I felt a bit disappointed by the hurried way the book was wrapped up.
—Kelsey Hanson
I remember reading this book for the first time in the fourth grade, and now they have a historical drama show called "Reign" based on her life. This, with the exception of Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess, has always been my favorite book from The Royal Diaries series. Although I know that not everything is completely accurate, we were able to get a glimpse of how her life might have been, as well as understand many historical aspects of the book. Although this series may be targeted towards Middle Grade, it was what sparked my love of history, and is one that I often miss reading.
—Katherine
