The Memoirs Of Mary Queen Of Scots (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
I first read Erikson's novel, The Last Wife of Henry VII, and I loved it; then I read her novel, The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette, and I thought it was okay. Now I've read her novel, The Memoirs of Mary Queen of Scots, and I'm not sure if I would consider it even okay. I felt the story was lacking a good grasp of Mary Stuart as a person and I thought Erickson overly romanticized and embellished the history.I know Erickson acknowledges that her works are historical entertainment, and I have no problem interpreting history to make a good story, but I don't understand the need to completely make up events when the real events make great entertainment. Erickson's novels tend to look for the love story, and Erickson will make up characters and events to write a romance when love may not have been a driving force in their actions.Mary Stuart become queen of Scotland at six days old. Scotland was ruled by regents while she spent her childhood in France. She marries Francis, who becomes King Francis II, but when he dies a couple years after their marriage, she goes back to Scotland. Scotland, like England, is split between protestants and Catholics. Mary is Catholic and she has some support by the Catholics in the country, but she faces a lot of threats from the protestants and other warring factions. She marries her first cousin, Lord Darnley, and they have a unhappy marriage until he is killed by an explosion. Shortly after his death, Mary marries Lord Bothwell (potentially forced) who is suspected of murdering Lord Darnley. In many ways her marriage to Lord Bothwell signals the end of her reign and good fortune. She is suspected of helping to arrange Lord Darnley's murder, and she eventually gives up her reign to her young son, James (who becomes King James I of England), and escapes to England. Her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, does not trust her, however, and holds Mary hostage for 18 years before finally executing her.In many ways, Mary Stuart's life seems out of her control, and she is subject to the warring tides of Catholic and Protestant factions. She has a rich family history of ties to the royal throne of both Scotland and England, but those ties eventually are her downfall. She is a pawn of Catholic rebels. She has three unhappy marriages that seem to be made more for political reasons than for love; yet, Erickson wants to find a love story between Mary and Lord Bothwell. There are supposedly "casket letters" that show Mary in cahoots with Lord Bothwell about Lord Darnley's murder, but current historians seem to consider them forgeries (it still goes back and forth). I think Erickson could have written a better historical entertainment if she had focused the story on political intrigue rather than love. There are lots of political drama to choose from because of the Catholic vs. Protestant drama.My biggest problem with the story is Mary Stuart herself. Erickson did a poor job creating a real person out of the historical facts. Mary never felt real. In Erickson's other novels (that I've read) she was able to create a "real" character, but Mary Stuart always felt like a collection of historical events with some narrative to fill the pages. Mary came across as stupid, shallow, and boring. I never really got to understand who Mary Stuart was, which is something a historical fiction is supposed to do. I tend to really enjoy novels about historical figures, so having been intrigued by Anne Boleyn and Catherine of Medici (who are both named in this novel), I found an interesting book in The Memoirs of Mary Queen of Scots. The novel fictionalizes the life of Mary, who was married at 15 to the week dauphin of France, the soon-to-be King Francis. The novel follows Mary as she endures widowhood as a teenager, meets and marries the reckless Henry, awaits widowhood a second time, remarries the man she loves, and watches as her status as queen and her claims to the English throne are threatened. While most of the events in the book are historically accurate, the motives are fictionalized, but the result is a compelling look into the life of Mary Queen of Scots.
What do You think about The Memoirs Of Mary Queen Of Scots (2009)?
what a fun ride. this is some one that i would like to have all of her books.
—constance
Now I am interested in finding out the real story
—kelli
Easy read and interesting subject matter
—GhazalRafia
