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Crown of Thistles: The Fatal Inheritance of Mary Queen of Scots
The struggle between the fecund Stewarts and the barren Tudors is generally seen only in terms of the relationship between Elizabeth I and her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots. But very little has been said about the background to their intense rivalry.
Here, Linda Porter examines the ancient and intractable power struggle between England and Scotland, a struggle intensified during the reigns of Elizabeth and Mary’s grandfathers. Henry VII aimed to provide stability when he married his daughter, Margaret, to James IV of Scotland in 1503. But he must also have known that Margaret’s descendants might seek to rule the entire island.
Crown of Thistles is the story of a divided family, of flamboyant kings and queens, cultured courts and tribal hatreds, blood feuds, rape and sexual licence on a breath-taking scale, and violent deaths. It also brings alive a neglected aspect of British history – the blood-spattered steps of two small countries on the fringes of Europe towards an awkward unity that would ultimately forge a great nation.
Beginning with the unlikely and dramatic victories of two usurping kings, one a rank outsider and the other a fourteen-year-old boy who rebelled against his own father, the book sheds new light on Henry VIII, his daughter, Elizabeth, and on his great-niece, Mary Queen of Scots, still seductive more than 400 years after her death.
Here, Linda Porter examines the ancient and intractable power struggle between England and Scotland, a struggle intensified during the reigns of Elizabeth and Mary’s grandfathers. Henry VII aimed to provide stability when he married his daughter, Margaret, to James IV of Scotland in 1503. But he must also have known that Margaret’s descendants might seek to rule the entire island.
Crown of Thistles is the story of a divided family, of flamboyant kings and queens, cultured courts and tribal hatreds, blood feuds, rape and sexual licence on a breath-taking scale, and violent deaths. It also brings alive a neglected aspect of British history – the blood-spattered steps of two small countries on the fringes of Europe towards an awkward unity that would ultimately forge a great nation.
Beginning with the unlikely and dramatic victories of two usurping kings, one a rank outsider and the other a fourteen-year-old boy who rebelled against his own father, the book sheds new light on Henry VIII, his daughter, Elizabeth, and on his great-niece, Mary Queen of Scots, still seductive more than 400 years after her death.
523 pages, Paperback
First published August 15, 2013
135 people are currently reading
1486 people want to read
About the author
Linda Porter
31 books87 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Linda Porter was born in Exeter, Devon in 1947. Her family have long-standing connections to the West Country, but moved to the London area when she was a small child. She was educated at Walthamstow Hall School in Sevenoaks and at the University of York, from which she has a doctorate in History. On completing her postgraduate work she moved to New York, where she lived for almost a decade, lecturing at Fordham University and the City University of New York.
Since returning to England, Porter has had a varied career. She has worked as a journalist and been a senior adviser on international public relations to a major telecommunications company. But she has always stayed close to her roots as an historian. In 2004 she was the winner of the Biographers Club/Daily Mail prize which launched her on a new career as an author. Her first book, Mary Tudor: The First Queen was published in 2007. In 2010 her second book Katherine the Queen: The Remarkable Life of Katherine Parr was published. As of 2010[update] she is doing preliminary research for a third book.
Porter is married with one daughter. She lives in Kent.
Linda Porter was born in Exeter, Devon in 1947. Her family have long-standing connections to the West Country, but moved to the London area when she was a small child. She was educated at Walthamstow Hall School in Sevenoaks and at the University of York, from which she has a doctorate in History. On completing her postgraduate work she moved to New York, where she lived for almost a decade, lecturing at Fordham University and the City University of New York.
Since returning to England, Porter has had a varied career. She has worked as a journalist and been a senior adviser on international public relations to a major telecommunications company. But she has always stayed close to her roots as an historian. In 2004 she was the winner of the Biographers Club/Daily Mail prize which launched her on a new career as an author. Her first book, Mary Tudor: The First Queen was published in 2007. In 2010 her second book Katherine the Queen: The Remarkable Life of Katherine Parr was published. As of 2010[update] she is doing preliminary research for a third book.
Porter is married with one daughter. She lives in Kent.
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November 20, 2017
I've always been fascinated by British royalty, especially the Queens. So much intensity and drama. This was a great book. At times a little too narrative and expository, but that's called for in this type of re-telling. Little details stand out. A trove of info for those with keen interest.
About Me
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.
About Me
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.
December 17, 2015
Crown of Thistles: The Fatal Inheritance of Mary Queen of Scots may be more of a comparative-historical study of Scotland's and England's monarchs laid out side-by-side, than a fully mapped out biography of Mary Stewart, opening with sensational conquests and the supplanting of two kings: on one hand, by the victorious creator of the Tudor dynasty, Henry VII and the other, a 15 year-old boy who became James IV after revolting against his father.
Unlike many popular historians who have portrayed the histories of Scotland and England singularly, Porter draws striking comparisons between the rival territories- the two opposing Kingdoms in interminable contention - as Scotland prepared a siege on England, while England herself faced rebellion within her own border to the south-west.
Porter diligently shows the intertwined existences of these countries and their monarchal adversaries : their political conflicts, reformation, and familial relationships as they occurred alongside each other, as one country struggled for domination over the other.
Porter observantly notes Margaret Tudor's plight in seeing both her sons taken away from her much like her uncles Edward V and his brother Richard were lost to her maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Woodville. Margaret Tudor and her granddaughter Mary Stewart also presented uncanny similarities in their disagreeable positions with government; their choices of loves and dubious, unwise marital decisions (Margaret to the scoundrel Earl Angus, Mary to the murderous Darnley); their removed relationships with their own offspring; both their forced flights from Scotland into the protection of England.
Finally, the author insightfully suggests that Mary Queen of Scots's imprisonment by her cousin Queen Elizabeth I might have reminded her of "the unhappy precedent of James I of Scotland who had been a prisoner in England for 18 years at the start of the 15th century."
From Henry Tudor's first inception of a magnificent alliance, through tumultuous periods of hatred, backstabbing and bloodshed, Porter livens the histories of these two border rivals to their eventual melding into one great nation under King James VI and I.
Unlike many popular historians who have portrayed the histories of Scotland and England singularly, Porter draws striking comparisons between the rival territories- the two opposing Kingdoms in interminable contention - as Scotland prepared a siege on England, while England herself faced rebellion within her own border to the south-west.
Porter diligently shows the intertwined existences of these countries and their monarchal adversaries : their political conflicts, reformation, and familial relationships as they occurred alongside each other, as one country struggled for domination over the other.
Porter observantly notes Margaret Tudor's plight in seeing both her sons taken away from her much like her uncles Edward V and his brother Richard were lost to her maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Woodville. Margaret Tudor and her granddaughter Mary Stewart also presented uncanny similarities in their disagreeable positions with government; their choices of loves and dubious, unwise marital decisions (Margaret to the scoundrel Earl Angus, Mary to the murderous Darnley); their removed relationships with their own offspring; both their forced flights from Scotland into the protection of England.
Finally, the author insightfully suggests that Mary Queen of Scots's imprisonment by her cousin Queen Elizabeth I might have reminded her of "the unhappy precedent of James I of Scotland who had been a prisoner in England for 18 years at the start of the 15th century."
From Henry Tudor's first inception of a magnificent alliance, through tumultuous periods of hatred, backstabbing and bloodshed, Porter livens the histories of these two border rivals to their eventual melding into one great nation under King James VI and I.
January 13, 2014
The heir to two kingdoms, Mary, Queen of Scots was to be a victim of terrible violence in both. Brutally deposed from her throne in Scotland, Mary fled to England only to be imprisoned and eventually beheaded by her cousin, Elizabeth I. Yet as Linda Porter describes, this was only the last chapter in the long, bloody family rivalry that was Mary’s fatal inheritance.
The first of the three generations whose story Porter tells is that of Mary’s Stuart grandfather, James IV of Scots, and his bride, Margaret Tudor, elder sister of Henry VIII of England. Their marriage, in 1502, opened the possibility that one day the Stuarts would inherit the English throne – a possibility bitterly resented and feared by Henry VIII, who was yet to have a male heir.
James IV of Scots is one of our most romantic but least known monarchs, and Porter does him justice with a dryly-witty portrait. A good-looking king, ‘as handsome in complexion as a man may be’, he was a lover of women (one of whom had the unfortunate name of Jane Bare-Arse) as well the arts, of hunting and jousting. His marriage was as popular in Scotland as he was, and in 1512 his Tudor wife bore James a healthy son, the living embodiment of the marriage union between the Scottish thistle and the English rose.
It was the following year, in August 1513, that the rivalry between the brothers-in-law came to a head. James, infuriated by Henry VIII’s claims that he was the rightful overlord of Scotland invaded England at the head a huge army. Henry VIII was abroad fighting a war in France, leaving a seventy year old home-front commander to confront James and the Scots at Flodden, in Northumberland.
On 9 September we will see the 500th anniversary of the battle, and a slaughter that Porter’s moving account compares to the horrors of the Somme. The Scots proved to be less well prepared than they had thought. Four thousand Englishmen were killed and ten thousand Scots - amongst them James IV, shot by an arrow through his face.
The king’s infant son, James V, was crowned aged seventeen months. But Mary, Queen of Scots would wear her crown of thistles at an even younger age, as history repeated itself for the next generation. James V also met his nemesis in Henry VIII, dying of cholera aged thirty, following another battle defeat at English hands. Mary, his only child, became Queen of Scots when she was just six days old.
Mary was, of course, too young to actually rule Scotland and as a girl it was not expected that she would ever do so. She left Scotland aged five, destined to be married to the French Dauphin, and eventually be a Queen of France. But her sickly French husband died not long after his accession as king, and in 1561 she returned to her homeland a beautiful widow of eighteen, ready to govern Scotland and to plot her accession of the English throne.
Henry VIII was long dead, and with his daughter, Elizabeth I, a childless spinster, Mary was the senior heir in blood to the English throne. To make her claim more popular in England Mary married an English born cousin, who, like Mary, had Stuart and Tudor royal ancestry. But by the time their son was born, the marriage had turned sour. Less than eight months later her English husband was murdered.
Although the men who killed her husband were never found Mary was accused of plotting Darnley’s murder with the man who she married shortly afterwards, the ambitious Earl of Bothwell. Porter argues that, in fact, Bothwell had raped Mary to force a marriage on her. But whatever the truth, Mary now faced a rebellion that led to her deposition as Queen. Crown of Thistles concludes with Mary poised to flee Scotland for England, where her place of refuge will first become her prison and then her grave.
In giving us the history of family rivalry to Mary’s reign and fall, Linda Porter has found a fresh approach to her biography, and told it with grace and humanity. It is a story of cultured courts and violent deaths, of ambitious kings and tragic queens: executed on Elizabeth’s orders in 1587, Mary’s family’s past had indeed proved a fatal inheritance.
An edited version of this review appeared in the Mail on Sunday in 2013
The first of the three generations whose story Porter tells is that of Mary’s Stuart grandfather, James IV of Scots, and his bride, Margaret Tudor, elder sister of Henry VIII of England. Their marriage, in 1502, opened the possibility that one day the Stuarts would inherit the English throne – a possibility bitterly resented and feared by Henry VIII, who was yet to have a male heir.
James IV of Scots is one of our most romantic but least known monarchs, and Porter does him justice with a dryly-witty portrait. A good-looking king, ‘as handsome in complexion as a man may be’, he was a lover of women (one of whom had the unfortunate name of Jane Bare-Arse) as well the arts, of hunting and jousting. His marriage was as popular in Scotland as he was, and in 1512 his Tudor wife bore James a healthy son, the living embodiment of the marriage union between the Scottish thistle and the English rose.
It was the following year, in August 1513, that the rivalry between the brothers-in-law came to a head. James, infuriated by Henry VIII’s claims that he was the rightful overlord of Scotland invaded England at the head a huge army. Henry VIII was abroad fighting a war in France, leaving a seventy year old home-front commander to confront James and the Scots at Flodden, in Northumberland.
On 9 September we will see the 500th anniversary of the battle, and a slaughter that Porter’s moving account compares to the horrors of the Somme. The Scots proved to be less well prepared than they had thought. Four thousand Englishmen were killed and ten thousand Scots - amongst them James IV, shot by an arrow through his face.
The king’s infant son, James V, was crowned aged seventeen months. But Mary, Queen of Scots would wear her crown of thistles at an even younger age, as history repeated itself for the next generation. James V also met his nemesis in Henry VIII, dying of cholera aged thirty, following another battle defeat at English hands. Mary, his only child, became Queen of Scots when she was just six days old.
Mary was, of course, too young to actually rule Scotland and as a girl it was not expected that she would ever do so. She left Scotland aged five, destined to be married to the French Dauphin, and eventually be a Queen of France. But her sickly French husband died not long after his accession as king, and in 1561 she returned to her homeland a beautiful widow of eighteen, ready to govern Scotland and to plot her accession of the English throne.
Henry VIII was long dead, and with his daughter, Elizabeth I, a childless spinster, Mary was the senior heir in blood to the English throne. To make her claim more popular in England Mary married an English born cousin, who, like Mary, had Stuart and Tudor royal ancestry. But by the time their son was born, the marriage had turned sour. Less than eight months later her English husband was murdered.
Although the men who killed her husband were never found Mary was accused of plotting Darnley’s murder with the man who she married shortly afterwards, the ambitious Earl of Bothwell. Porter argues that, in fact, Bothwell had raped Mary to force a marriage on her. But whatever the truth, Mary now faced a rebellion that led to her deposition as Queen. Crown of Thistles concludes with Mary poised to flee Scotland for England, where her place of refuge will first become her prison and then her grave.
In giving us the history of family rivalry to Mary’s reign and fall, Linda Porter has found a fresh approach to her biography, and told it with grace and humanity. It is a story of cultured courts and violent deaths, of ambitious kings and tragic queens: executed on Elizabeth’s orders in 1587, Mary’s family’s past had indeed proved a fatal inheritance.
An edited version of this review appeared in the Mail on Sunday in 2013
December 7, 2014
The book gives an overview of the coming of Mary Queen of Scots, her troubled reign and its immediate aftermath. Aside from a long introduction about the rise of Henry VII, Tudor history is minimized. I was glad for the focus on Scotland there is not a lot available in other sources for the general reader. The subtitle is a better description of the content than the title.
The Scottish story begins with the rebellion against James III. His teen aged son, who may have been prodded by his mother, became James IV. There is a description of his successful reign, his marriage to Margaret Tudor and the Battle of Flodden where he died.
James V became king as a toddler. Porter shows how his widowed mother, Margaret Tudor made bad choices and his regency slipped through her fingers. James V cemented French protection (from England) through marriage and with Mary Guise begat Mary Stewart. The description of widowhoods of Margaret Tudor and Mary Guise shows their contrast in style and what it meant for them and the heirs they produced. Margaret's first of her two disastrous marriages in widowhood contributed to Mary's "fatal inheritance".
Mary Stewart arrived in Scotland recently orphaned and widowed. Today we would say she had PTSD even before her troubles begin. The book covers her tumultuous reign up to her flight to England where the it abruptly ends. The coming of James VI to the English throne as James I is about two or three paragraphs in the Epilogue.
In some places Porter notes differing opinions of historians and when mainstream consensus has changed over the years. At other times events that I believe to be in dispute are given as fact. For instance, the presentation of Lord Darnley to Mary, the possible match of Leicester and Lord Bothwell raping Mary. Is Porter giving a current consensus on these or has what is said now been established as fact?
There are some black and white plates which are mostly portraits. At the end there are short profiles of the key people.
This not a book for first time Tudor/Stewart readers. To read this book, you need some background.
The Scottish story begins with the rebellion against James III. His teen aged son, who may have been prodded by his mother, became James IV. There is a description of his successful reign, his marriage to Margaret Tudor and the Battle of Flodden where he died.
James V became king as a toddler. Porter shows how his widowed mother, Margaret Tudor made bad choices and his regency slipped through her fingers. James V cemented French protection (from England) through marriage and with Mary Guise begat Mary Stewart. The description of widowhoods of Margaret Tudor and Mary Guise shows their contrast in style and what it meant for them and the heirs they produced. Margaret's first of her two disastrous marriages in widowhood contributed to Mary's "fatal inheritance".
Mary Stewart arrived in Scotland recently orphaned and widowed. Today we would say she had PTSD even before her troubles begin. The book covers her tumultuous reign up to her flight to England where the it abruptly ends. The coming of James VI to the English throne as James I is about two or three paragraphs in the Epilogue.
In some places Porter notes differing opinions of historians and when mainstream consensus has changed over the years. At other times events that I believe to be in dispute are given as fact. For instance, the presentation of Lord Darnley to Mary, the possible match of Leicester and Lord Bothwell raping Mary. Is Porter giving a current consensus on these or has what is said now been established as fact?
There are some black and white plates which are mostly portraits. At the end there are short profiles of the key people.
This not a book for first time Tudor/Stewart readers. To read this book, you need some background.
July 31, 2014
Although related by blood and residing in bordering countries; the Tudors and Stuarts (Stewarts) were far from chummy. This dramatic relationship best-suited for a soap opera is retold by Linda Porter in, “Tudors Versus Stewarts: The Fatal Inheritance of Mary, Queen of Scots”.
Having previously read two books by Porter; there are certain characteristics of the author’s writing which I was on the lookout for. As per usual, “Tudors Versus Stewarts” has a slow start which feels too much like establishing background information. This is understandable in beginning a scholarly text but Porter maintains this for approximately 100 pages. Often times, it is like reading an extended foreward.
Furthermore, Porter’s premise for “Tudors Versus Stewarts” is too explain the interactions, emotions, and psychological effects of the countries and monarchies on one another but this is lost in the shuffle. Instead, Porter simply retells the history of both countries during a set time frame and swaps back-and-forth explaining what occurred at the same time. This doesn’t adhere to her thesis, though. Common to Porter, her writing often strays on tangents creating a choppy, disjointed piece.
Although Porter does begin to find her stride and has strong moments (such as the discussion of Perkin Warbeck); she puts on emphasis on non-important areas while fluffing up minor notes, being the opposite of what the reader expects. “Tudors Versus Stewarts” is best described as being “off key”.
In Porter’s other works, she had the habit of making highly speculative or opinionated statements. This is also the case with “Tudors Versus Stewarts”. The text is filled with “Might have”, “Perhaps”, and “Must have” phrases and several admissions of, “We don’t know what happened but…” Several times, Porter concludes that, “There are no records of what was discussed but surely it was…” No Porter, you don’t “surely know” what was discussed with no records! Examples of juvenile comments include saying such as, “Later in life she [Margaret Tudor] simply looks fat” (p 143) and Margaret resenting the “crusty old earl” (p 148). These have no place in an academic piece.
Although there are admittedly some moments that Porter tries to debunk some myths (not well, as her text isn’t really annotated and she quickly moves past her attempts at debunking); on the whole “Tudors Versus Stewarts” is a recap instead of learning anything new. Again, the aim and angle of the book is unique but Porter falls short in execution.
Porter insists on sprinkling the text with mentions of Shakespeare (why are so many recent history authors begetting Shakespeare as a historian?!) and quoting poems/literature. Perhaps this is done to lighten the load but it merely works to downgrade the emphasis of “Tudors Versus Stewarts”.
The second half of “Tudors Versus Stewarts” focuses largely on Scotland. Although this is still simply a retelling and does not meet the thesis; it is a strong source for those interested in an overview of Scottish politics in the 16th century.
“Tudors Versus Stewarts” rushes at the conclusion and ends rather abruptly. Porter’s biases are clear and although she attempts to add importance to the clashing between the Tudors and Stuarts (ending with King James I of England); she failed to do anything other than present a dual biography.
Porter follows the text with an epilogue, list of key figures, notes, and bibliography while the text contains a section of black and white photo plates. It should be noted that I have read many of the secondary sources Porter used which is why the book didn’t offer me new information but this may not be the case with all readers.
Overall, Porter’s piece has a strong motive and thesis but it was not carried out to a proven point. “Tudors versus Stewarts is readable (meaning: not boring) and one will learn of many Scottish and English events but I was merely expecting more. The book is not bad and suggested for those interested in the history but it won’t blow you away.
Having previously read two books by Porter; there are certain characteristics of the author’s writing which I was on the lookout for. As per usual, “Tudors Versus Stewarts” has a slow start which feels too much like establishing background information. This is understandable in beginning a scholarly text but Porter maintains this for approximately 100 pages. Often times, it is like reading an extended foreward.
Furthermore, Porter’s premise for “Tudors Versus Stewarts” is too explain the interactions, emotions, and psychological effects of the countries and monarchies on one another but this is lost in the shuffle. Instead, Porter simply retells the history of both countries during a set time frame and swaps back-and-forth explaining what occurred at the same time. This doesn’t adhere to her thesis, though. Common to Porter, her writing often strays on tangents creating a choppy, disjointed piece.
Although Porter does begin to find her stride and has strong moments (such as the discussion of Perkin Warbeck); she puts on emphasis on non-important areas while fluffing up minor notes, being the opposite of what the reader expects. “Tudors Versus Stewarts” is best described as being “off key”.
In Porter’s other works, she had the habit of making highly speculative or opinionated statements. This is also the case with “Tudors Versus Stewarts”. The text is filled with “Might have”, “Perhaps”, and “Must have” phrases and several admissions of, “We don’t know what happened but…” Several times, Porter concludes that, “There are no records of what was discussed but surely it was…” No Porter, you don’t “surely know” what was discussed with no records! Examples of juvenile comments include saying such as, “Later in life she [Margaret Tudor] simply looks fat” (p 143) and Margaret resenting the “crusty old earl” (p 148). These have no place in an academic piece.
Although there are admittedly some moments that Porter tries to debunk some myths (not well, as her text isn’t really annotated and she quickly moves past her attempts at debunking); on the whole “Tudors Versus Stewarts” is a recap instead of learning anything new. Again, the aim and angle of the book is unique but Porter falls short in execution.
Porter insists on sprinkling the text with mentions of Shakespeare (why are so many recent history authors begetting Shakespeare as a historian?!) and quoting poems/literature. Perhaps this is done to lighten the load but it merely works to downgrade the emphasis of “Tudors Versus Stewarts”.
The second half of “Tudors Versus Stewarts” focuses largely on Scotland. Although this is still simply a retelling and does not meet the thesis; it is a strong source for those interested in an overview of Scottish politics in the 16th century.
“Tudors Versus Stewarts” rushes at the conclusion and ends rather abruptly. Porter’s biases are clear and although she attempts to add importance to the clashing between the Tudors and Stuarts (ending with King James I of England); she failed to do anything other than present a dual biography.
Porter follows the text with an epilogue, list of key figures, notes, and bibliography while the text contains a section of black and white photo plates. It should be noted that I have read many of the secondary sources Porter used which is why the book didn’t offer me new information but this may not be the case with all readers.
Overall, Porter’s piece has a strong motive and thesis but it was not carried out to a proven point. “Tudors versus Stewarts is readable (meaning: not boring) and one will learn of many Scottish and English events but I was merely expecting more. The book is not bad and suggested for those interested in the history but it won’t blow you away.
August 19, 2015
Sejarah British merupakan 'obsesi' saya yang baharu,selepas sejarah mengenai Perang Dunia Kedua. Minat ini mula timbul apabila saya membaca 1000 Years of Annoying the French yang sebenarnya sebuah buku satira sejarah hubungan antara British dan Perancis. Namun di dalamnya terdapat beberapa kisah sejarah yang amat menarik minat saya. Terutamanya yang berkaitan dengan sejarah England dan Scotland,dua antara empat kerajaan/wilayah yang membentuk British atau turut dikenali sebagai United Kingdom kini.
Buku ini,secara amnya,adalah buku biografi mengenai Permaisuri Scotland,Mary Stewart(1542 - 1587). Permaisuri Mary merupakan antara tokoh diraja yang terkenal di British,terutamanya di Scotland,pada ketika era Renaissance dan Reformation,pada abad ke-16. Beliau terkenal kerana Mary merupakan pemerintah perempuan berstatus permaisuri pertama dan terakhir di Scotland. Kemangkatan Mary yang tragik di England turut menyumbang kepada kemasyhuran beliau di dalam kisah sejarah British.
Walaupun demikian,penulis buku ini,Linda Porter,membawa pembacanya untuk meneliti sejarah Dinasti Tudor dan Dinasti Stewart,yang masing-masing merupakan dinasti pemerintah untuk England dan Scotland. Fokus diberikan bermula dari era pemerintahan Henry VII (yang turut merupakan raja pertama dinasti Tudor di England) dengan James IV (yang naik takhta di Scotland melalui pemberontakan terhadap ayahandanya sendiri,James III). Perkara ini penting dilakukan kerana Mary merupakan keturunan kepada kedua-dua raja yang berlainan dinasti ini. Henry VII merupakan moyang dan James IV merupakan datuk kepada Mary. Boleh dikatakan Mary bukan sahaja layak memerintah Scotland,tetapi juga England. Namun demikian,suasana politik dan sosial Eropah yang ketika itu bergolak dengan konflik mazhab antara Katolik dan Protestan,menghalang Mary daripada mencapainya,yang juga merupakan cita-citanya untuk menyatukan kedua-dua kerajaan. Skandal politik,seks,dan rasuah serta perebutan kuasa turut menjadi faktor penghalang.
Saya berpendapat bahawa Porter berjaya menyampaikan penceritaannya dengan baik dan berkesan. Walaupun mungkin ada pembaca yang buat pertama kalinya mengenali sejarah Mary melalui buku ini,seseorang pembaca itu dapat memahami apa yang cuba disampaikan oleh penulis tanpa menghadapi banyak kesukaran. Buku ini juga sesuai dibaca sebagai 'pengenalan' mengenai Mary sebelum membaca buku-buku yang lebih khusus mengenai tokoh wanita yang masih lagi 'memikat' walaupun lebih 400 tahun selepas kematiannya.
Buku ini,secara amnya,adalah buku biografi mengenai Permaisuri Scotland,Mary Stewart(1542 - 1587). Permaisuri Mary merupakan antara tokoh diraja yang terkenal di British,terutamanya di Scotland,pada ketika era Renaissance dan Reformation,pada abad ke-16. Beliau terkenal kerana Mary merupakan pemerintah perempuan berstatus permaisuri pertama dan terakhir di Scotland. Kemangkatan Mary yang tragik di England turut menyumbang kepada kemasyhuran beliau di dalam kisah sejarah British.
Walaupun demikian,penulis buku ini,Linda Porter,membawa pembacanya untuk meneliti sejarah Dinasti Tudor dan Dinasti Stewart,yang masing-masing merupakan dinasti pemerintah untuk England dan Scotland. Fokus diberikan bermula dari era pemerintahan Henry VII (yang turut merupakan raja pertama dinasti Tudor di England) dengan James IV (yang naik takhta di Scotland melalui pemberontakan terhadap ayahandanya sendiri,James III). Perkara ini penting dilakukan kerana Mary merupakan keturunan kepada kedua-dua raja yang berlainan dinasti ini. Henry VII merupakan moyang dan James IV merupakan datuk kepada Mary. Boleh dikatakan Mary bukan sahaja layak memerintah Scotland,tetapi juga England. Namun demikian,suasana politik dan sosial Eropah yang ketika itu bergolak dengan konflik mazhab antara Katolik dan Protestan,menghalang Mary daripada mencapainya,yang juga merupakan cita-citanya untuk menyatukan kedua-dua kerajaan. Skandal politik,seks,dan rasuah serta perebutan kuasa turut menjadi faktor penghalang.
Saya berpendapat bahawa Porter berjaya menyampaikan penceritaannya dengan baik dan berkesan. Walaupun mungkin ada pembaca yang buat pertama kalinya mengenali sejarah Mary melalui buku ini,seseorang pembaca itu dapat memahami apa yang cuba disampaikan oleh penulis tanpa menghadapi banyak kesukaran. Buku ini juga sesuai dibaca sebagai 'pengenalan' mengenai Mary sebelum membaca buku-buku yang lebih khusus mengenai tokoh wanita yang masih lagi 'memikat' walaupun lebih 400 tahun selepas kematiannya.
December 9, 2013
Excellent exposition of a subject others have written much about but never (to my knowledge) in parallel such as this treatment of both the Tudors & Stewarts. My only criticism would be that there was too little examination as to why there was such vehement opposition to Mary's marriage to Darnley.
August 12, 2015
A well written book, but it does not focus at all on Mary Stuart. It is more about her ancestors and in some part might be a bit boring.
November 4, 2014
A political thriller that made me forget I was on the stationary bike. Which is high praise. Having just visited Scotland this summer and seen many of the places mentioned in this biography, it was particularly compelling.
March 7, 2024
This books achieves everything that it sets out to discuss magnificently!
I absolutely love reading about Mary, Queen of Scots, so I was a little worried going into this book that it would repeat the same well-known facts about her life and reign. Boy was I wrong. Not only does it provide a well-thought out and logical discussion of Mary but also of the Stuart and Tudor dynasties and their fight for dominance. Porter expertly explores the political and dynastic background to the eventual conflict between Mary and Elizabeth I and how the actions of their predecessors ultimately led to their conflict of the succession.
This is probably one of the best historical books that I’ve read about MQS. It doesn’t carry a one-sided perspective, but rather a balanced discussion of the facts about not only Mary’s reign but her immediate forebears in both Scotland and England as well. It also debunks a lot of the people theories/myths about Mary, her personality and her actions, specifically in the latter years of her personal reign which I think is really well-done and helpful (especially with the references to contemporary and secondary sources at the end of the book). Not only that, but it showcases Mary as a politican and queen rather than solely a woman ‘led by her heart’ as has often been claimed. It also highlights how her “fatal inheritance” was sparked by the marriage between James IV and Margaret Tudor, and how her choices regarding her second marriage essentially led to the Stuarts’ triumph over the Tudors in their battle for the succession and unity of their thrones.
It is a fascinating, well-researched and written book, which doesn’t get bogged down in the details or in the retelling of the day-to-day lives of each Stuart and Tudor ruler. Rather it focuses on how the legacies of both dynasties intertwined to result in Mary’s rule and her son’s eventual succession and unification of the two thrones.
I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who loves learning about Scottish and English history during the late medieval and early renaissance periods. As well as those with an avid interest in MQS, the Stuarts and the Tudors, it is well worth the read.
I absolutely love reading about Mary, Queen of Scots, so I was a little worried going into this book that it would repeat the same well-known facts about her life and reign. Boy was I wrong. Not only does it provide a well-thought out and logical discussion of Mary but also of the Stuart and Tudor dynasties and their fight for dominance. Porter expertly explores the political and dynastic background to the eventual conflict between Mary and Elizabeth I and how the actions of their predecessors ultimately led to their conflict of the succession.
This is probably one of the best historical books that I’ve read about MQS. It doesn’t carry a one-sided perspective, but rather a balanced discussion of the facts about not only Mary’s reign but her immediate forebears in both Scotland and England as well. It also debunks a lot of the people theories/myths about Mary, her personality and her actions, specifically in the latter years of her personal reign which I think is really well-done and helpful (especially with the references to contemporary and secondary sources at the end of the book). Not only that, but it showcases Mary as a politican and queen rather than solely a woman ‘led by her heart’ as has often been claimed. It also highlights how her “fatal inheritance” was sparked by the marriage between James IV and Margaret Tudor, and how her choices regarding her second marriage essentially led to the Stuarts’ triumph over the Tudors in their battle for the succession and unity of their thrones.
It is a fascinating, well-researched and written book, which doesn’t get bogged down in the details or in the retelling of the day-to-day lives of each Stuart and Tudor ruler. Rather it focuses on how the legacies of both dynasties intertwined to result in Mary’s rule and her son’s eventual succession and unification of the two thrones.
I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who loves learning about Scottish and English history during the late medieval and early renaissance periods. As well as those with an avid interest in MQS, the Stuarts and the Tudors, it is well worth the read.
September 26, 2017
This history states many things I have never heard about the subjects in the title. The revelations are most interesting !
Many of the quotes are in old English and the sentence structure is quite odd to read in the 21st century. Yet, this adds quite a lot to the story.
I loved the story of Margaret Tudor.
The genealogical charts need to be more complete as to dates and names.
Queen Mary of the Scots, and her story is lacking a lot. Much has been dumped into the epilogue.
In the text, little is stated about Mary's trial, the Armada, and her relationship with Phillip II of Spain.
John Knox is presented as the heavy in the story of the Catholic queen, his story needs to be more balanced.
Perhaps the author needs to write a new volume to finish the stories she has started.
Objectivity is needed in telling both the Stuart's and the Tutors stories.
I enjoyed the book a lot.
Donald D. Rice, Ed.D.
Many of the quotes are in old English and the sentence structure is quite odd to read in the 21st century. Yet, this adds quite a lot to the story.
I loved the story of Margaret Tudor.
The genealogical charts need to be more complete as to dates and names.
Queen Mary of the Scots, and her story is lacking a lot. Much has been dumped into the epilogue.
In the text, little is stated about Mary's trial, the Armada, and her relationship with Phillip II of Spain.
John Knox is presented as the heavy in the story of the Catholic queen, his story needs to be more balanced.
Perhaps the author needs to write a new volume to finish the stories she has started.
Objectivity is needed in telling both the Stuart's and the Tutors stories.
I enjoyed the book a lot.
Donald D. Rice, Ed.D.
October 4, 2024
If, like myself, you feel to have exhausted all biographical coverage of those two British queens in one isle, Mary of Scots and Elizabeth I, Crown of Thistles is the ultimate addendum. Exploring the background to, rather than the substance of, this fatal sisterly relationship, Linda Porter brings a freshly insightful perspective to a much-told tale, forever mesmerising in its many complexities and uncertainties.
There is no cut and dried version of much of this legend whose allure lies in its very reshaping, according to the teller and their biases. The missing elements will probably remain so ad infinitum. These are: the defining rationale behind much of the Queen of Scots' perplexing decision making (and her level of complicity in her second husband Darnley's murder); the extent of Elizabeth's knowledge, jealously, rivalry and regal or familial integrity behind so many of her actions or inactions; and the related hushed discussions and covert activities behind so many closed doors across Britain between 19 August 1561 - when Mary returned home to Scotland, a stranger and teenaged queen dowager of France - and 8 February 1587, when her head was clumsily removed by an incompetent executioner at Fotheringay Castle, Northamptonshire.
That final bloody act was cited by Catholics everywhere as religious persecution, as they rallied into action the Spanish Armada the following year. If successful, that crusade against the most dangerous enemy of their faith would have seen Protestant England invaded and Elizabeth become not the Great but the Ousted. History could and would have been very different.
Porter, like her predecessors, aims to interpret this history's blurrier aspects through rational reasoning and critical discussion which, as with all versions, makes for some stimulating speculation, in parts convincing and in parts not so. Yet regardless of our leaning, towards Mary being victim or villainess, we remain compelled to read every last word there is, so as to somehow draw or reinforce our own conclusions. Such are our reasons for restlessly revisiting this messily unresolved epic, time after time. We strain to see through the misty patches of this tantalising legend, such is its unending allure. With certain hard facts forever slipping elusively through our fingers, we remain irreversibly entranced.
Possibly no data here is newly published, just this author's formation of facts, her presentation of contributing factors in the half-century or so lead up to Christendom's first and most shocking royal judicial execution ('Regicide!' roared the Catholic church from one end of Europe to the other). This famously protracted episode's culmination made a female Catholic martyr of Mary at the hands of her excommunicated Protestant female 'heretic' cousin, Elizabeth. All at a time when women were already thought unfit to rule due to their lack of levelheadedness. No wonder this has become the stuff of romantic fiction, high drama, ballet and opera.
Because of Mary's natural place in the succession and her son's successful claim of it, here, too, was the shaping towards a royal dynasty we know today, with its peculiar links to Norman antiquity. Mary Stuart is, after all, the historical monarchical link between medieval British monarchy and its current ruling house. It is, significantly, she, a Scottish Stuart, from whom today's English royals descend, the Tudors having reached extinction with the demise of Mary's great 'barren' rival queen, cousin and executioner, Elizabeth I.
Fans thirsting for those irresistible, heart wrenching fine details of Mary's interminable state confinement under Elizabeth will be sorely disappointed and may as well save their eyes and reading lamps the labour. None of that is here. At what point Mary's goals and priorities switched from regaining her own throne to being drawn towards conspiring to usurp Elizabeth's ... what fired Elizabeth at every delicate turn, how she truly coped with 'that' allegedly botched signing of Mary's death warrant ... barely a fleeting moment of this gripping drama is to be found within these pages. The substance of this book is, instead, the distant background to all of that.
Porter cannot be fairly faulted for her reliance on conjecture, which is the case with all her predecessors and contemporaries. This is an uncertain story on so many levels. What Porter argues 'might have' steered choices, what 'perhaps' shaped certain events, even what 'must have' unfolded in private is the inevitable explanatory trajectory, without which there would simply be no accessible angle on much of the material. Every such historian falls back on this device of logical yet subjective reasoning in the absence of sufficient documentation to get an absolute picture of certain story points.
Every smallest historical detail was acutely relevant to me. I particularly appreciated the Stewart and Lancastrian/Tudor family trees preceding the Prologue and the fifteen-page Dramatis Personae following the Epilogue – features common to such histories but still vital quick reference points for even the most knowledgeable reader.
Though I have read more hotly emotive accounts and drier, less engaging ones, Porter's balance was, I felt, fine enough. I learned more and gained greater insight than had I not read it. The narrative style is possibly less engaging that in her earlier two books, which I thoroughly enjoyed (Mary Tudor: The First Queen and Katherine the Queen: The Remarkable Life of Katherine Parr) but this is counterbalanced by the riveting essential content itself. This story will always endure, regardless its teller, but by concentrating its particular background into one work, the author saves Mary of Scots fanatics much gruelling research.
Highly recommended.
There is no cut and dried version of much of this legend whose allure lies in its very reshaping, according to the teller and their biases. The missing elements will probably remain so ad infinitum. These are: the defining rationale behind much of the Queen of Scots' perplexing decision making (and her level of complicity in her second husband Darnley's murder); the extent of Elizabeth's knowledge, jealously, rivalry and regal or familial integrity behind so many of her actions or inactions; and the related hushed discussions and covert activities behind so many closed doors across Britain between 19 August 1561 - when Mary returned home to Scotland, a stranger and teenaged queen dowager of France - and 8 February 1587, when her head was clumsily removed by an incompetent executioner at Fotheringay Castle, Northamptonshire.
That final bloody act was cited by Catholics everywhere as religious persecution, as they rallied into action the Spanish Armada the following year. If successful, that crusade against the most dangerous enemy of their faith would have seen Protestant England invaded and Elizabeth become not the Great but the Ousted. History could and would have been very different.
Porter, like her predecessors, aims to interpret this history's blurrier aspects through rational reasoning and critical discussion which, as with all versions, makes for some stimulating speculation, in parts convincing and in parts not so. Yet regardless of our leaning, towards Mary being victim or villainess, we remain compelled to read every last word there is, so as to somehow draw or reinforce our own conclusions. Such are our reasons for restlessly revisiting this messily unresolved epic, time after time. We strain to see through the misty patches of this tantalising legend, such is its unending allure. With certain hard facts forever slipping elusively through our fingers, we remain irreversibly entranced.
Possibly no data here is newly published, just this author's formation of facts, her presentation of contributing factors in the half-century or so lead up to Christendom's first and most shocking royal judicial execution ('Regicide!' roared the Catholic church from one end of Europe to the other). This famously protracted episode's culmination made a female Catholic martyr of Mary at the hands of her excommunicated Protestant female 'heretic' cousin, Elizabeth. All at a time when women were already thought unfit to rule due to their lack of levelheadedness. No wonder this has become the stuff of romantic fiction, high drama, ballet and opera.
Because of Mary's natural place in the succession and her son's successful claim of it, here, too, was the shaping towards a royal dynasty we know today, with its peculiar links to Norman antiquity. Mary Stuart is, after all, the historical monarchical link between medieval British monarchy and its current ruling house. It is, significantly, she, a Scottish Stuart, from whom today's English royals descend, the Tudors having reached extinction with the demise of Mary's great 'barren' rival queen, cousin and executioner, Elizabeth I.
Fans thirsting for those irresistible, heart wrenching fine details of Mary's interminable state confinement under Elizabeth will be sorely disappointed and may as well save their eyes and reading lamps the labour. None of that is here. At what point Mary's goals and priorities switched from regaining her own throne to being drawn towards conspiring to usurp Elizabeth's ... what fired Elizabeth at every delicate turn, how she truly coped with 'that' allegedly botched signing of Mary's death warrant ... barely a fleeting moment of this gripping drama is to be found within these pages. The substance of this book is, instead, the distant background to all of that.
Porter cannot be fairly faulted for her reliance on conjecture, which is the case with all her predecessors and contemporaries. This is an uncertain story on so many levels. What Porter argues 'might have' steered choices, what 'perhaps' shaped certain events, even what 'must have' unfolded in private is the inevitable explanatory trajectory, without which there would simply be no accessible angle on much of the material. Every such historian falls back on this device of logical yet subjective reasoning in the absence of sufficient documentation to get an absolute picture of certain story points.
Every smallest historical detail was acutely relevant to me. I particularly appreciated the Stewart and Lancastrian/Tudor family trees preceding the Prologue and the fifteen-page Dramatis Personae following the Epilogue – features common to such histories but still vital quick reference points for even the most knowledgeable reader.
Though I have read more hotly emotive accounts and drier, less engaging ones, Porter's balance was, I felt, fine enough. I learned more and gained greater insight than had I not read it. The narrative style is possibly less engaging that in her earlier two books, which I thoroughly enjoyed (Mary Tudor: The First Queen and Katherine the Queen: The Remarkable Life of Katherine Parr) but this is counterbalanced by the riveting essential content itself. This story will always endure, regardless its teller, but by concentrating its particular background into one work, the author saves Mary of Scots fanatics much gruelling research.
Highly recommended.
June 13, 2023
Excellent Book...not just about Mary but also her immediate forebears and the Tudor connection. Interesting background historically and contextually in the greater scheme of ever changing European alliances. I knew little about Margaret Tudor, Henry's VIII's sister and Mary's grandmother or about the fascinating personalities of James III, IV and Mary of Guise. Very acessibly written presentation of life and politics from the time of the War of the Roses up to Mary Stuart's demise. If you can get through the first chapter which is a bit hard going with detail, the story opens up and truly engages. Had a problem with the author's frequent use of the word "probably" to state a questionable fact as it didn't appear backed up by anything other than her opinion. I enjoyed this book and will now read her one about Katherine Parr.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 21, 2018
I have to admit this was a totally fascinating read, especially the first three parts. While Mary queen of Scots is dealt with it's the history of both her grandfather James the fourth and her father James 5th which are really compelling. Both are now little more than a foot-note in history, James 4th being remembered as the man who took a pasting at Flodden and James 5th famous for allegedly saying the dynasty began with a woman and would end with a woman. But as Ms Porter shows there was much more to these men especially James 5th who turned out to be a strong and stable ruler. A wonderful read.
January 25, 2018
This book filled a void in my readings of British history. The examination of both the Tudors and the Stewarts co-existing certainly clarified what was happening in both in England and Scotland in the 1500s. The author was sympathetic to Mary's plight and I wish she could have been a little more sympathetic to Richard III. Maps would have been helpful and I did appreciate the short biographies at the end of the book. All the Scottish Earls can become quite confusing. I highly recommend this book and will follow "Tudors Versus Stewarts " with more books written by Linda Porter.
December 2, 2022
A well written & comprehensive view of medieval Britain.
This book begins in 1485 & ends with the accession of James Vl of Scotland to become James l of England in 1603.
The depth of history covered here of Scotland & England with their royal families, the Tudors & the Stewarts, & nobility warring for power makes this a fantastic starter book for anyone interested in this period of British history
This book begins in 1485 & ends with the accession of James Vl of Scotland to become James l of England in 1603.
The depth of history covered here of Scotland & England with their royal families, the Tudors & the Stewarts, & nobility warring for power makes this a fantastic starter book for anyone interested in this period of British history
September 12, 2023
A good historical boom on the rise of Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I. However, I thought from that more of the book (<30%) would be on these two queens given the title. Only 5 pages given to Mary Queen of Scots attempts to take English crown while imprisoned for 19 years. Perhaps I should have read the summary more closely to find a book more matched to my expectations. Still a sound and readable book.
November 13, 2023
Very informative, and certain portions of the book were compelling enough to maintain entertainment alongside education. However, it was rather dry for the most part, to my personal tastes. There are historical accounts that can be the exact opposite, which is why I gave this 3 stars. Definitely gives me more appreciation for the decades that led up to Mary's reign as queen of Scotland, but not necessarily one that I would reach for again.
March 12, 2025
Usually I am a big fan of Linda Porter’s work but this one just didn’t do it for me. I was expecting a book about Mary Stuart Queen of Scots but instead I don’t think she even got a mention until over half way into the book. I do find the history of James IV and V very interesting but that’s not why I chose this book to read, I wanted to learn more in depth about Mary herself and I don’t feel like I got that from this
June 4, 2021
This was a wonderful book. It wasn't dry or boring. I found it exciting, interesting and very informative. I learned things I never knew about Mary Queen of Scots as well as her reign and ancestors. If you are a fan of Mary Queen of Scots or of royalty in general this is a book for you. I can't recommend this book highly enough. Brava, Ms. Porter, brava!!
April 15, 2024
Linda Porter writes in a manner many attempt, and few succeed in; her writing is lush and vivid, distilling necessary information while fleshing out historical actors and the world they lived in.
That being said Linda’s palpable dislike of ‘dumpy’ ‘unattractive’ and ‘fat’ people that has been present in her other works, reaches an all time high here lol.
That being said Linda’s palpable dislike of ‘dumpy’ ‘unattractive’ and ‘fat’ people that has been present in her other works, reaches an all time high here lol.
June 26, 2021
As an author myself I thought Linda Porter did an excellent job in writing this captivating history of Mary Queen of Scotland. The life of royalty, being beheaded by her own cousin who signed the death warrant. I enjoyed the history!
August 29, 2025
I will forever be charmed by the image of Scottish King James IV with his embroidery silks, cozily stitching away with his favourite mistress by his side. This manliest of men died at Flodden. Masculinity is what you make it.
June 20, 2017
Very generic and relies heavily on other sources
February 3, 2022
very well written but SO MANY similar names and dates! that's history for you! interesting read with a slightly different twist from the movies I had seen.
February 14, 2025
well written, excellent research, easily accessible.
November 30, 2025
you have to read nearly 3 thirds of the book before you get to Mary Queen of Scots, interesting when you get there even though there is nothing about her long imprisonment in England
January 6, 2023
Currently reading.
July 31, 2014
A great book that shatters all the myths regarding this period. There were many things I didn't know about the Stewarts like James IV being a skilled sewer, building a great navy and possessing some of the best canyons in Europe and investing on making his country the center of European politics. His son and heir, James V while not being a skilled musician and singer like his father and uncle, or erudite like the latter, nevertheless made sure his court became the center of knowledge and reinforced the Auld alliance marrying twice into the French nobility, first to Princess Maudeline then to Marie of the rising Guise family. By detailing Tudor and Stewart regimes, Porter effectively traces the factors that contributed to Mary Stewart's fall, but the greatest aspects were as Porter points out the young Queen's upbringing. She had the ability to win over the hearts and minds of people, no matter what level of society they came from, but her upbringing in France, trained in the same level as her first husband and future king of France, the Dauphin, was that of a Consort not a Regnant. And there was the ever animosity between England and its northern neighbor going all the way back to the one hundred years war, and it wasn't just England causing trouble but Scotland as well with the love of pillaging and raiding their Southern neighbor which many engaged in, and that is how some made their fortunes. But by the time Mary Stewart returned to France in August 1561, Scotland had transitioned from its enmity towards England towards a new identity which had been forged by religious dissidents who were now more open with English domination over French. Mary's mother while a domineering figure and formidable woman in her own right, tried to make a little France out of Scotland and her unwillingness to compromise led to inevitable failure on her part when she tried to raid English borders and attack the north while Elizabeth's elder sister, Mary I of England's reign.
To her credit, Mary was a better politician than her mother and learned a lot from Catherine de Medici, and was willing to compromise to all sides (her first attempts to recognize Protestantism as the official religion in Scotland and showing more tolerance than her English cousins and queens had shown is admirable) but her desperation to give her dynasty and her country an heir and to do things her own way as her mother led to her fall, and alienated much of the nobles (many Protestant) that had initially supported her.
This is a book not to be taken lightly, it is lengthy and very detailed so if you are looking for a light read that gives you nothing at all but short answers, then go read something else, this is a major in depth look into the origins of these two dynastic conflicts that led to the Queen of Scots' eventual fall. Perhaps Porter says it best when she pointed out that while the opinion on Elizabeth I is still divided and there are still many who wish to romanticize her, one thing is clear and that is that Elizabeth knew danger, she learned from an early age what it was like to live in constant fear and like her older sister, battling for her throne and to keep it was not an easy thing, while Mary Stewart had lived a life of privilege all her life up until she returned to Scotland where she learned like Elizabeth that she had to fight to keep her throne. The story of Mary Queen of Scots, the real Mary Queen of Scots is one tragedy after another. Forced to abdicate, before that kidnapped and raped and forced to marry the man who shamed her to avoid her shame becoming public -it did and then abandoned by that same man and miscarried. It is far from the romantic fairy tale we've grown up with. And yet the Stewarts final triumph that the first Tudor monarch jested, finally came about with the accession of her son and uniting the two kingdoms for the first time in a logn history of conflict.
To her credit, Mary was a better politician than her mother and learned a lot from Catherine de Medici, and was willing to compromise to all sides (her first attempts to recognize Protestantism as the official religion in Scotland and showing more tolerance than her English cousins and queens had shown is admirable) but her desperation to give her dynasty and her country an heir and to do things her own way as her mother led to her fall, and alienated much of the nobles (many Protestant) that had initially supported her.
This is a book not to be taken lightly, it is lengthy and very detailed so if you are looking for a light read that gives you nothing at all but short answers, then go read something else, this is a major in depth look into the origins of these two dynastic conflicts that led to the Queen of Scots' eventual fall. Perhaps Porter says it best when she pointed out that while the opinion on Elizabeth I is still divided and there are still many who wish to romanticize her, one thing is clear and that is that Elizabeth knew danger, she learned from an early age what it was like to live in constant fear and like her older sister, battling for her throne and to keep it was not an easy thing, while Mary Stewart had lived a life of privilege all her life up until she returned to Scotland where she learned like Elizabeth that she had to fight to keep her throne. The story of Mary Queen of Scots, the real Mary Queen of Scots is one tragedy after another. Forced to abdicate, before that kidnapped and raped and forced to marry the man who shamed her to avoid her shame becoming public -it did and then abandoned by that same man and miscarried. It is far from the romantic fairy tale we've grown up with. And yet the Stewarts final triumph that the first Tudor monarch jested, finally came about with the accession of her son and uniting the two kingdoms for the first time in a logn history of conflict.
December 9, 2014
"Tudors Versus Stewarts" is very organized and well-written and covers the years 1485 to 1568 in England, Scotland, and France. Most of the focus is on Scotland, whose history is not as well-known as that of England during the same time period. It's the story of the rivalry between the Tudors of England -- starting with Henry VII, who vanquished Richard III, the last Plantagenet -- and the Stewarts of Scotland. James I was the first Stewart to rule Scotland; his reign began in 1406.
Author Linda Porter provides the bare minimum of information about James I and his son, James II. The story she's telliing begins with James III, crowned in 1460, and picks up momentum with the crowning of his son, James IV, in 1488. The particulars ofJames III's death are murky; he died in the midst of a battle with Scottish rebels intent on overthrowing him. His son, James IV, was on the rebels' side. James III likely was killed by one or more of the rebels, but no one wanted to admit killing the king.
There are hundreds of characters in this book, many with the same names (all the Scottish kings, for example), and many with titles, which makes it even more confusing. Family connections are important in understanding the story, especially in Scotland, where prominent families engage in blood feuds lasting generations.
So, for example, James Hepburn, the fourth earl of Bothwell, while part of the Hepburn family, is generally identified in the book as "Bothwell." This confused me until I sorted it out. There are extensive family trees for the Tudors and the Stewarts at the beginning of the book, as well as brief descriptions of all the major players at the end. These descriptions are organized by nationality: Scots, English, French, etc. Without these aids, the narrative would have been much harder to follow.
I enjoyed the book but it's long – 468 pages of text, plus footnotes, descriptions of characters, bibliography, and index. It's essentially a comprehensive history of the clashes between the Scots and the English over Scotland's desire to have its own nation and England's desire to rule Scotland as part of Great Britain. The French play a crucial role as they back Scotland's independence or not, depending on the French national interest of the moment.
The book is not as compelling a read as one in which one or even two main historical characters carry the story along. This book has at least 10 major characters, who come and go. I enjoyed the earlier parts of the book about James III, James IV, and James V more than the later chapters, but that may be because I knew nothing of the Scottish kings; I was much more familiar with the Tudors of England.
The book is extensively researched, with footnotes and hundreds of sources. Porter overdoes the "had they but known then" foreshadowing technique, which I found annoying after a while. But she does an excellent job of covering lots of historical territory and events and making it understandable to someone who doesn't know much about the subject.
Author Linda Porter provides the bare minimum of information about James I and his son, James II. The story she's telliing begins with James III, crowned in 1460, and picks up momentum with the crowning of his son, James IV, in 1488. The particulars ofJames III's death are murky; he died in the midst of a battle with Scottish rebels intent on overthrowing him. His son, James IV, was on the rebels' side. James III likely was killed by one or more of the rebels, but no one wanted to admit killing the king.
There are hundreds of characters in this book, many with the same names (all the Scottish kings, for example), and many with titles, which makes it even more confusing. Family connections are important in understanding the story, especially in Scotland, where prominent families engage in blood feuds lasting generations.
So, for example, James Hepburn, the fourth earl of Bothwell, while part of the Hepburn family, is generally identified in the book as "Bothwell." This confused me until I sorted it out. There are extensive family trees for the Tudors and the Stewarts at the beginning of the book, as well as brief descriptions of all the major players at the end. These descriptions are organized by nationality: Scots, English, French, etc. Without these aids, the narrative would have been much harder to follow.
I enjoyed the book but it's long – 468 pages of text, plus footnotes, descriptions of characters, bibliography, and index. It's essentially a comprehensive history of the clashes between the Scots and the English over Scotland's desire to have its own nation and England's desire to rule Scotland as part of Great Britain. The French play a crucial role as they back Scotland's independence or not, depending on the French national interest of the moment.
The book is not as compelling a read as one in which one or even two main historical characters carry the story along. This book has at least 10 major characters, who come and go. I enjoyed the earlier parts of the book about James III, James IV, and James V more than the later chapters, but that may be because I knew nothing of the Scottish kings; I was much more familiar with the Tudors of England.
The book is extensively researched, with footnotes and hundreds of sources. Porter overdoes the "had they but known then" foreshadowing technique, which I found annoying after a while. But she does an excellent job of covering lots of historical territory and events and making it understandable to someone who doesn't know much about the subject.
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