Little Book of Mary Queen of Scots

by Mickey Mayhew

Mary Queen of Scots is perhaps one of the most controversial and divisive monarchs in regal history. Her story reads like a particularly spicy novel, with murder, kidnap, adultery, assassination and execution. To some she is one of the most wronged women in history, a pawn used and abused by her family in the great monarchical marriage game; to others, a murderous adulteress who committed regicide to marry her lover and then spent years in captivity for the crime, endlessly plotting the demise of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England.

This book covers the entire breath-taking scope of her amazing life and examines the immense cultural legacy she left behind, from the Schiller play of the 1800s to the CW teen drama Reign. Temptress, terrorist, or tragic queen, this book will give you the lowdown on one of history’s most misunderstood monarchs.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2015

About the author

Mickey Mayhew is an author from London, working on Mary Queen of Scots and the Tudor reign; he has a PhD focusing on the online 'cult' surrounding the 'tragic queens' Anne Boleyn and Mary Queen of Scots. He wrote 'The Little Book of Mary Queen of Scots' (published by The History Press) in 2014 and then 'I love the Tudors' (published by Pitkin Publishing) in 2016. Pen & Sword Books published 'House of Tudor - A grisly history' and 'Imprisoning Mary Queen of Scots' in 2022 and 'Rasputin and his Russian Queen' in 2023.
Previously to this, he was co-author on three books relating to Jack the Ripper, whilst fictional work includes the urban fantasy trilogy 'The Barrow Boys of Barking', beginning with 'Jack and the Lad' and concluding, for now, with 'Jamie's Big Bang'. His tongue-in-cheek memoir 'Mickeypedia' is also now available, with all proceeds going to the Anna Kennedy Online autism charity.

His latest book is The Anne Boleyn Bible, also from Pen & Sword; the work includes the discovery of the sword used at Anne Boleyn's execution; on that score, the opposition to adding anything new or fresh to Anne Boleyn lore would, however, make for a book in itself. He is currently in the process of taking legal action against several Tudor historians who - out of pure spite - tried to sabotage both the book and also the findings therein.

Reviews

[Felicia Lemmon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very accessible and fun way to read about Mary Queen of Scots. I appreciate history book greatly that don't take themselves too seriously and write in a way that the average reading non-historian can read it and enjoy themselves.

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Entertaining enough as an introduction to Mary, Queen of Scots, but nothing groundbreaking here.

[Naiara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una biografía muy amena de la última reina católica de Escocia.
En las páginas se nota que al autor le gusta y le tiene aprecio a Mary. Cuenta lo justo y necesario para que entiendas quién fue, qué implicó su historia para el país, para Europa y para el desenlace católico y protestante de la época; y cómo es recordada/qué repercusiones tiene hoy en día.

No entendí mucho la decisión narrativa de armar una especie de "glosario" que no se denomina así y tampoco tiene esa estructura. En la que te recuerda el nombre de todos los involucrados en la vida de Mary. Cuenta lo mismo que ya narró, pero de una forma más resumida y todo junto. En cambio, si me pareció acertado hacer lo mismo con los lugares porque esos en la historia se los nombra de manera muy breve. A pesar de esto, me hubiera gustado que sean notas al pie o con relación de números y llamados. Leerlos todos juntos al final y sin el flow de la historia fue raro.

[Vivien Shao]

all the side text/explainers made this feel disjointed and hard to follow. but otherwise really interesting after visiting scotland!

[Sophie Nixon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this extremely quick summary of Mary Queen of Scot’s life. If you’re looking for a brief read that is packed with information, opinions and humour then this is it. I liked that the book encourages you to come to your own conclusions. I would’ve loved if there had been more of it but this would’ve defeated the point of the book. Also, I really liked the assessment of Mary in popular culture. I just needed more discussions of Mary’s experiences.

[Violeta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro genial para los que quieran conocer más sobre la historia de María Estuardo.

[Rosie Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very good read in good plain English and very accessible and entertaining it was a pleasure too read

[Agnes Fontana · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Little book", mais une somme d'informations sur l'histoire de Mary Stuart, reine d'Ecosse, fille de James V et de la Française Marie de Guise, envoyée en France pour la mettre à l'abri d'un mariage avec le fils d'Henri VIII, fiancée au dauphin de France François II, qui meurt dans un tournoi peu de temps après avoir accédé au trône. Menacée en France, Mary rentre en Ecosse et se marie une seconde fois, mais là, de curieux assassinats (son secrétaire Rizzio, son mari) se produisent autour d'elle. Troisième mariage, menaces de sa cousine Elisabeth 1ère d'Angleterre... pour échapper à des dangers divers, Mary se rend en Angleterre où elle reste de longues années en captivité avant d'être exécutée en 1587, non sans avoir séduit nombre de ses geoliers et assisté à plusieurs conspirations pour la délivrer, toutes vouées à l'échec. Elle aura une victoire posthume puisqu'Elisabeth 1ère reste sans enfant tandis que son fils James VI (James 1er en Angleterre), qui l'a modérément aidée de son vivant, prendra la suite et assurera la postérité de sa dynastie. En plus de l'histoire, où l'auteur livre honnêtement à la réflexion du lecteur les points non tranchés (union forcée ou consentie avec Bothwell ?), il y a des développements intéressants sur les femmes qui ont accompagné Mary, les hommes qui ont traversé sa vie, des encadrés passionnants... L'anglais utilisé n'est pas des plus intuitifs, mais plein d'un humour piquant qui fait qu'on mémorise tout facilement (the list of suspects for Darnley's murdrereads like a who's who of the scottish nobility...). A conseiller à tous ceux qui s'intressent à Mary sans encore bien la connaître.

[Nancy McCusker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read, short, has pictures, and has maps. Hard to find a non-fiction/biography for a person living the 1500's. There is quite a bit of humor involved here. There are also some nasty ways of murdering people. I had gone on a British cruise a while ago. I really should have read the book beforehand. Took out all the pics, and found sites that I found in the book. I also found the resting place of Mary (I think) . That was Westminster Abbey in London. That's where I got lost and my daughter needed to find me.

[Liam McKinnon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to a fascinating character. Appreciated the author's wit and humour, which came through this historical record in just the right amounts. You can tell Mayhew is taken by Queen Mary, but leaves enough space for the reader to interrogate the nuances and mysteries that surrounded her reign.

[Laura]

i love history but i often find it a bit hard to follow history books. however, this one was pretty easy to read and i think it's a great introduction to mary's life (although i feel like some parts could have been a bit more developed)

[KAdelaide · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a dramatic life indeed, who needs Game of Thrones when theres this!! Recommend.

[G. Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good, a nicely written introduction to Mary and her life, told with affection and good humour

[Emily Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read for any Tudor History enthusiast.

[Lorna Merrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple and accessible story of Mary’s life. Best I’ve read. I struggled with Antonia Fraser’s version, but this was much more accessible to me, and really illuminating.

[Vickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scholarly, but interesting.

[Karen Ballard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an enjoyable way to understand Mary Queen of Scots. After being to Scotland, it was great to get story behind all the places we have seen.

[Sandy Salzinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief, breezy biography of Mary, Queen of Scots for the Tudor novice

[Hayley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short concise history of Mary Queen of Scotts. Reads a little bit like a Wikipedia article but easily accessible to read and covers everything briefly.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read. The author did a nice job making history interesting.

[Emily Menary · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars because who am I to rate a piece of history.

[Chhaya Mistry · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting read, but definitely felt a bit disjointed in the history retelling, and I can’t help but feel like something was missing.

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

fun to get the gist of miss mary but wish it went into a bit more detail for full big brain understanding

[Jacinta · Rating 3 out of 5]

i picked this book up years ago when i went to Scotland, glad i finally read it.

its a brief history of Mary queen of scots. its not overloaded with information, its easy to follow and i learnt a lot of new information about Mary.

[venusverti · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ⭐

A well paced, easy and enjoyable read - an easily consumable introduction to a woman surrounded by complex plots and history. I've learnt more than I expected from such a small book, and left with the urge to find out a little more. Occasionally, the more complex matters did need further discussion and her execution was narrated too fast, sadly falling a little flat. A good, worthwhile read, but nothing special.

[Rowann Sinclair]

Best book about mary queen of scots i've read, its really good and very informative