Mary Queen of Scotland and The Isles

The life is Queen Mary of Scots (1542-1587) is interesting to read. She was perhaps the unluckiest queen ever. In this novel by Margaret George, Mary Stuart is described as a good natured person. After months finally I finished this book. What was so difficult was the numerous characters involved in this story, the writer mentioned in the afterword that there were at least 200 of them. So many the characters that I couldn't remember one lord from another.

Mary's father, King James V, died soon after Mary was born. When she was 6 days old, she became Queen of Scots. Her mother, Marie de Guise, seeing that it was not safe for her to stay, sent her to France where she grew up together with her betrothed, the Dauphin François. Mary was very happy in France and at 16 she became the Queen of France. Her happiness was cut short by the death of François and at 18 she became a widow. She returned to her homeland, Scotland, who had been turned into a Protestant country where she met John Knox, the priest who disliked her because she was a Catholic. Mary, however, let the Protestants to pray in their own way, as long as she could pray in hers as well. Mary married Henry, Lord Darnley, who later become a drunkard and because of his bad habit, suffered syphilis. From this marriage, born James, who later would reign over both Scotland and England, because Elizabeth Tudor died without having any child. Darnley was found murdered and people was suspicious Mary was involved in it. Soon after, Mary married the Earl of Bothwell. They only lived together for a month, for the lords, led by her step brother James, rebelled against her. Mary and Bothwell never saw each other again, for Bothwell ran away to Denmark and died horribly in a dungeon, chained like an animal for 5 years. Mary fled to England, where she thought her cousin Elizabeth would help her, but instead prisoned her for 19 years and finally had her beheaded. In the book, Mary didn't want the throne of England, but she wanted her freedom. She wanted either to go back to Scotland or to go to France, to her mother's homeland where she had a happy childhood. If she was involved in any plot to kill Elizabeth, it was because she was forced to, by her situation.