I read this book many many years ago and remembered loving it. Recently, I started indulging in a guilty pleasure - The CW's Reign and once I binged watched the two seasons over a few weeks, I had to get more of the life of Mary, Queen of Scots(and preferably, something a little more historically accurate).I read a lot of Jane Yolen's work when I was younger, and I am so glad that her writing still holds its charm for me, years later. What I like about this telling is that it would have been so easy to make it a first-person narrative from Mary's point of view. But by using Nicola as the narrator, it allowed us, as the reader, to see the events from a less biased point of view. The majority of the liberties that they took, historically, had to do with Nicola's life, and not with the queen's. By using Nicola as a narrator, everything is seen through her eyes, and the reality of history (whatever it is) is protected.I definitely enjoyed the writing style; I think Yolen is a very underrated writer and would love to see more from her in this style and time period. And I loved that she stayed true to the main plot points of Mary Stuart's life, while embellishing parts of Nicola's life that are not so well known. The forward explains what is known about Nicola (which is very little)and the author note ends with: "Where history ends, storytelling begins." Something about that stuck with me through the book. I liked that the authors made it clear that they had taken liberties (as you must, in historical fiction), but wanted to outline what little is known about Nicola the fool. It felt honest. The characters are painted wonderfully though Nicola's eyes. They are very much the way that I have imagined them when reading about Mary's life. Darnley and Bothwell were painted as manipulative and power-hungry, and the Marys were given way more personality that I had ever seen in any portrayal (most adaptations don't even mention that the queen's four ladies were all named Mary). In some ways, though, it was the smaller characters (in terms of history, that is) I appreciated the most - David and Joseph Riccio, and Pierre (who may be completely fictional for all I know), and, naturally, Nicola - La Jardiniere.And of course, the most interesting - Queen Mary herself. It is always interesting to see how she will be portrayed. Here, she is strong and warm (and a bit naive), and her top concern is her people - her Scots. I really enjoyed seeing all of these characters through the eyes of Nicola, but I especially enjoyed seeing this take on the Scots queen.Mary Stuart is a classic example of a historical figure who is viewed in one of two ways: as a martyr and saint, or as a manipulative traitor. It all depends on how you look at it. This take definitely painted her in a more sympathetic light. It also allowed us to imagine her as what she was - mortal, as Nicola reminded her so much over the course of the novel. Yes, she was a ruler, but above all she was human, and this book does a great job of allowing us the possibility to see the woman behind the queen.
Summary:12 year old Nicola Ambruzzi, a member of Troupe Brufort and a very clever girl is taken into custody by Mary, Queen of Scots as her jester and as her friend. Throughout her journey following the Queen she experiences the chaos in both France and Scotland, nevertheless always being loyal to her queen she follows her to amuse and comfort her.Audience:This book is best suited for ages 12-15. It is easy to read and understand. It is also very educational and entertaining for young readers. Purpose:This book is valuable for educational purposes since it includes some historical facts and characters. The details of Mary, Queen of Scotland's life were also included in the novel. Such as the death of her husband, king Francis, her returning to Scotland, her marriage to Lord Darnley (and having his child) and then to Earl of Bothwell, her imprisonment, and her execution. I believe the authors were trying to write a story of the life Queen Mary that was accessible, authentic, and enjoyable for readers to read. Using the character Nicola's point of view is an interesting way to tell a story, since she was a made up character after all. Although the queen actually did have a jester named Jardinière. The theme of this book is loyalty and it is portrayed by the character Nicola who was always faithful to the Queen and always refused to leave her side. The lesson of the story is to teach readers that loyalty is valuable in someone's friendship cause that is what sustains it, just like the Queens and Nicola's friendship. Overall, this book is to entertain and inform young readers. Knowing that it contains real historical facts and that it was made into a fiction novel shows how the author wants the reader to know these facts but not get bored while reading.Opinion:What I enjoyed the most about this book was that it was entertaining, as well as informative with historical facts. I also liked how it focused on Nicola's journey with the Queen and the way she saw things now that she was part of her life. Even though she was living in a royal society where she was fed good food and was well dressed, she also noticed the flaws, such as the heaps of murder. One thing I disliked was that very little was known about the Queen after her and Nicola went their separate ways. I would've liked to known more of her journey to England.
What do You think about Queen's Own Fool (2001)?
Well, I loved this book. Nothing more to it. I even stole my middle school teacher's copy, just because I loved it.Reason? Well...-The narrator has a voice, and a very strong one at that. She runs away from a bad life with her uncle and siblings of her own accord. That's gutsy, as are her antics. I liked that.-A lot of interesting things happen, but it wasn't so action-packed that I never had a moment to breathe. See, there were a lot of small details to ponder and let me feed off of without Yolen suffocating me with the history. She segued through it.-I'll restate this more clearly: there were so many small details that made me smile:the four servants with the same name, Nicola's relationships with other servants, the garden! I'm a fan of those sorts of things.-It was more or less a coming of age story. The main character, Nicola, changes a lot, and you can see that.Maybe those aren't good reasons to like the story, but I don't know. I liked books like Anne of Green Gables and To Kill a Mockingbird, which more or less not similar. And I read it a long time ago, so maybe my judgement is clouded. But pick it up. I think you'll like it.
—Isabelle
Although the beginning of this book was a bit slow, I soon found myself drawn in to the story of politics and intrigue surrounding Mary, Queen of Scots. The story is told from the POV of Nicola, a young woman who caught the Queen's attention as part of a travelling entertainers. The Queen, appreciative of Nicola's habit of telling the truth, invites her to become the Queen's Own Fool; her only job is to always tell the Queen the truth, no matter what, and remind her that she is a mere mortal. Nicola is a very likeable protagonist, and through her, the reader grows to care about what happens to the Queen, who it seems was very sweet, but let her heart rule her head. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the next three books in this quartet.
—Laura
"Doomed queens" seems to have become my summer reading theme: first Anne Boleyn, now Mary Queen of Scots. This book was fun to start with, and is well done (Jane Yolen always delivers), but the sense of impending doom is starting to get to me. It's not half as bad as The Other Boleyn Girl, which had me longing for Anne's decapitation when I was only halfway through the book, but still, I don't know how Yolen and Harris can faithfully describe the horrors of Mary's later life and death in a way that is even remotely appropriate for young readers. We'll see......and it turns out that they end it before the trauma reaches its most extreme point. I was actually kind of impressed by how Yolen and Harris potrayed rape, murder, and war in an appropriately horrifying, and yet still readable manner.
—Rebecca Honeycutt
