What do you think?
Rate this book
Stuart Saga #1
Royal Road to Fotheringay (Stuart Saga, #1)
At just six days old, Mary Stuart became Queen of Scots. At just six years old she was betrothed to the Dauphin Francois, the future King of France.
Reluctantly leaving Scotland, Mary is raised in the decadent French court in preparation to become the Queen of France. But her reign with Francois is short-lived. Widowed at just eighteen years old, Mary is once again forced to leave her home to return to Scotland. Now a Catholic queen of a Protestant country, Mary must rule with caution and choose her next husband prudently...
Reluctantly leaving Scotland, Mary is raised in the decadent French court in preparation to become the Queen of France. But her reign with Francois is short-lived. Widowed at just eighteen years old, Mary is once again forced to leave her home to return to Scotland. Now a Catholic queen of a Protestant country, Mary must rule with caution and choose her next husband prudently...
Paperback
First published January 1, 1955
230 people are currently reading
3325 people want to read
About the author
Jean Plaidy
187 books1,586 followersEleanor Alice Burford, Mrs. George Percival Hibbert was a British author of about 200 historical novels, most of them under the pen name Jean Plaidy which had sold 14 million copies by the time of her death. She chose to use various names because of the differences in subject matter between her books; the best-known, apart from Plaidy, are Victoria Holt (56 million) and Philippa Carr (3 million). Lesser known were the novels Hibbert published under her maiden name Eleanor Burford, or the pseudonyms of Elbur Ford, Kathleen Kellow and Ellalice Tate. Many of her readers under one penname never suspected her other identities.
-Wikipedia
-Wikipedia
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
April 23, 2013
I've always preferred stories about Queen Elizabeth I to those of her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, and this novel did not change my mind. If anything, it cemented my general contempt for the latter for all time.
That should by no means be taken as a statement about the quality of Royal Road to Fotheringay, which is textbook Jean Plaidy fictionalized biography. The novel takes us from Mary Stuart's early days as the toddler queen of Scotland, romping through various castles and monastaries with her "four Marys" (four little girls of noble birth, all of whom share her given name, who were raised along with her to give her company and, later on, servants) through her later upbringing in France as the intended bride of the Dauphin, the sickly boy who grew up (sort of) to be the short-reigning King Francis II, her disastrous second and third marriages, and then skips on to her infamously botched execution on the orders of her cousin Elizabeth I of England. A sequel, The Captive Queen of Scots, presumably covers the twenty or so years between the death of her third husband and Mary's own death, and will be read in due course. Probably. Once I'm done with gnashing my teeth over how much I wanted to slap Mary through most of this novel.
I had, of course, a similar experience reading Plaidy's two novels concerning Lucrezia Borgia last year. I'm not sure how similar these two heroines really were, but as Plaidy wrote them, both were spoiled, petted young things who grew up into pathological people pleasers who allowed monstrous goings on to take place all around them without even trying to do anything about said goings on, before, during or after. Of course they are also products of their age, and I'm meant to feel sympathy towards them (Plaidy seems to have made it her special mission to rehabilitate, or at least explain, Borgia), or at least try to understand them, but... man, it's rough. It's rough.
Royal Road to Fotheringay was a lot more unpleasant a read than the Borgia books, though, because so many of the characters it has to portray are, incredibly, even more unpleasant. From Mary's creepy Uncle Charles, a Roman Catholic Cardinal who helped "guide" her during her upbringing in France and who does a lot of "caressing" and engages in blatant emotional manipulation that all but amounts to abuse, to her second husband, the vain and spoilt and cranky Darnley to her womanizing, raping, pillaging jackass of a third husband, James Hepburn, to Mary's mother Mary of Guise and one-time mother-in-law Catherine de' Medici, Mary Stuart's life is like one long parade of monsters. If only she weren't so damned passive, gullible, foolishly romantic and willing to be manipulated... seriously, she is the Dobby the House Elf of European monarchs. Not that she ever stood much of a chance of being anything else.
And this chick ruled a country. Well, sort of.
Maddening as it is, though, it's a good story, impeccably told. And that counts for something.
That should by no means be taken as a statement about the quality of Royal Road to Fotheringay, which is textbook Jean Plaidy fictionalized biography. The novel takes us from Mary Stuart's early days as the toddler queen of Scotland, romping through various castles and monastaries with her "four Marys" (four little girls of noble birth, all of whom share her given name, who were raised along with her to give her company and, later on, servants) through her later upbringing in France as the intended bride of the Dauphin, the sickly boy who grew up (sort of) to be the short-reigning King Francis II, her disastrous second and third marriages, and then skips on to her infamously botched execution on the orders of her cousin Elizabeth I of England. A sequel, The Captive Queen of Scots, presumably covers the twenty or so years between the death of her third husband and Mary's own death, and will be read in due course. Probably. Once I'm done with gnashing my teeth over how much I wanted to slap Mary through most of this novel.
I had, of course, a similar experience reading Plaidy's two novels concerning Lucrezia Borgia last year. I'm not sure how similar these two heroines really were, but as Plaidy wrote them, both were spoiled, petted young things who grew up into pathological people pleasers who allowed monstrous goings on to take place all around them without even trying to do anything about said goings on, before, during or after. Of course they are also products of their age, and I'm meant to feel sympathy towards them (Plaidy seems to have made it her special mission to rehabilitate, or at least explain, Borgia), or at least try to understand them, but... man, it's rough. It's rough.
Royal Road to Fotheringay was a lot more unpleasant a read than the Borgia books, though, because so many of the characters it has to portray are, incredibly, even more unpleasant. From Mary's creepy Uncle Charles, a Roman Catholic Cardinal who helped "guide" her during her upbringing in France and who does a lot of "caressing" and engages in blatant emotional manipulation that all but amounts to abuse, to her second husband, the vain and spoilt and cranky Darnley to her womanizing, raping, pillaging jackass of a third husband, James Hepburn, to Mary's mother Mary of Guise and one-time mother-in-law Catherine de' Medici, Mary Stuart's life is like one long parade of monsters. If only she weren't so damned passive, gullible, foolishly romantic and willing to be manipulated... seriously, she is the Dobby the House Elf of European monarchs. Not that she ever stood much of a chance of being anything else.
And this chick ruled a country. Well, sort of.
Maddening as it is, though, it's a good story, impeccably told. And that counts for something.
September 26, 2011
Enjoyable and a quick read. It honestly reads a lot more like actual history than historical fiction, which was fine with me. My major issue was probably in the portrayal of Mary. In trying to explain her actions and release her from a lot of the blame that has been cast on her for centuries the author unfortunately makes her personality a bit bland and naive. While some of this has a basis in history (she certainly was spoiled for most of her childhood in France) I think her personality was a lot more active than what was portrayed in the book. Her portrayal of the relationship between Mary and Bothwell was very interesting, as I've noticed most fictional accounts tend to make Bothwell into a romantic hero. Still, a pretty good fictional overview of her life. You can tell the author really knew what she was talking about and did her research and it's amazing that she wrote this book back before opinions of Mary began to change and be more positive.
January 20, 2020
This book was so hard to get through. The writing had me bored throughout most of the story. It kinda felt like I was reading a textbook which I did not enjoy. I would have loved to read the story solely from Mary's perspective, instead, we got pretty much everyone's perspective. I wanted to see more of her marriage with King Francois, instead, it was a small glimpse in a couple of chapters. If this book had been written in a different style, I think I would've enjoyed it a lot more.
April 7, 2019
2.5 stars
March 13, 2008
I think Mary Queen of Scots had a fascinating life and I liked Victoria Holt's (another pen name of Jean Plaidy) historical novel about Marie Antoinette (The Queen's Confession), but I was disappointed in The Royal Road to Fotheringhay. Mary's character didn't come alive, the suppporting characters were too one-dimesional and the narrator's tone annoyed me. However, I did learn some interesting facts about Mary's life. I have a couple of the Tudor novels by Jean Plaidy, but I don't think I'll bother reading them.
February 27, 2009
It is the story of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots as she is brought up in the French Courts as she is betrothed to young Francois. (As an infant she was made Queen of Scotland when her father James V died.) It then goes on to her travels to Scotland and her second and third marriage, which were both disastrous and were not recommended to her. To use a word used in the book and which comes to mind often when thinking of Mary's decisions in her life, "Folly".
The edition I own is the same as one pictured (Pan [M197:] 1967, 2nd printing Paperback) but it is slightly more used. Where your thumb goes when reading a paperback, my edition has the actual binding off in a little square at the bottom. The knowledge that I was reading a book that came to me from the UK and that it belonged to an unknown person"Merle Horvington" as transcribed inside of the book, brought me a sense of 'vintage pleasure'. I did have to be careful though as several little pieces of the binding was just crumbling at the touch. I was quite thankful it did not have that old book musty smell though it was yellowing around the edges..but not bad for a book older than I am!
Back to the contents of the book. I do not want to give away plot lines or events, but I intend to give a brief review. I truly enjoyed this version of Mary as Plaidy interprets her. I had begun my British History passion with Henry VIII, and then Elizabeth I, so I have had Elizabeth's biased view of Mary till now. Through this book, I cannot but help to feel so much more empathy for her although the decisions she makes in her love life and consequently politically are utterly disastrous and you just want to yell at her. Poor thing was misguided from the get-go. The only good thing that happens is that she and Darnley have a healthy son. The bad thing is that she barely got to see her child as she was on the run ever after and then a prisoner. That son becomes James VI of Scotland, and James I of England whom I spoke of in earlier posts in regards to Arbella aka Arabella and her own misfortune for being born a Stuart.
I have previously read Jane Dunn's Elizabeth and Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens which is non-fiction. I can not point out any direct historical inaccuracies although I am not one for noticing for the smaller details. As far as my review of that book I had previously written on WeRead via Facebook: "It was okay.. nothing new and seemed a bit of disorganized. I didn't like how all of the major events were eluded to several times before getting to that point in time. Could never get a sense of time with this book."
I wonder if Mary was simply more in tune to her beauty and cared more for the finer things in life and not brought up to think politically. Since this work is fiction I cannot say for sure.
The book ends as she is abdicating Scotland, and now I have begun "The Captive Queen of Scots." It picks up directly where "Fotheringay" left off and you learn soon the fate of the pregnancy that we learn of towards the end of "Fotheringay".
I give The Royal Road to Fotheringay 5 of 5 stars as a piece of Fiction.
The edition I own is the same as one pictured (Pan [M197:] 1967, 2nd printing Paperback) but it is slightly more used. Where your thumb goes when reading a paperback, my edition has the actual binding off in a little square at the bottom. The knowledge that I was reading a book that came to me from the UK and that it belonged to an unknown person"Merle Horvington" as transcribed inside of the book, brought me a sense of 'vintage pleasure'. I did have to be careful though as several little pieces of the binding was just crumbling at the touch. I was quite thankful it did not have that old book musty smell though it was yellowing around the edges..but not bad for a book older than I am!
Back to the contents of the book. I do not want to give away plot lines or events, but I intend to give a brief review. I truly enjoyed this version of Mary as Plaidy interprets her. I had begun my British History passion with Henry VIII, and then Elizabeth I, so I have had Elizabeth's biased view of Mary till now. Through this book, I cannot but help to feel so much more empathy for her although the decisions she makes in her love life and consequently politically are utterly disastrous and you just want to yell at her. Poor thing was misguided from the get-go. The only good thing that happens is that she and Darnley have a healthy son. The bad thing is that she barely got to see her child as she was on the run ever after and then a prisoner. That son becomes James VI of Scotland, and James I of England whom I spoke of in earlier posts in regards to Arbella aka Arabella and her own misfortune for being born a Stuart.
I have previously read Jane Dunn's Elizabeth and Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens which is non-fiction. I can not point out any direct historical inaccuracies although I am not one for noticing for the smaller details. As far as my review of that book I had previously written on WeRead via Facebook: "It was okay.. nothing new and seemed a bit of disorganized. I didn't like how all of the major events were eluded to several times before getting to that point in time. Could never get a sense of time with this book."
I wonder if Mary was simply more in tune to her beauty and cared more for the finer things in life and not brought up to think politically. Since this work is fiction I cannot say for sure.
The book ends as she is abdicating Scotland, and now I have begun "The Captive Queen of Scots." It picks up directly where "Fotheringay" left off and you learn soon the fate of the pregnancy that we learn of towards the end of "Fotheringay".
I give The Royal Road to Fotheringay 5 of 5 stars as a piece of Fiction.
April 6, 2014
A very good book until the circumstances surrounding Queen Mary's third marriage. Realistic narration with all the human strengths and weaknesses of an extraordinary person in extraordinary circumstances. That is, until she is raped by one of her most important supporters, Lord Bothwell. I try not to impose modern and personal morality on historical people and circumstances, and I acknowledge that no matter the period, human relations are complicated, but I just could not fathom or follow Mary's feelings and actions after this point. According to the author, Bothwell commits an unplanned rape of Mary, who is initially outraged and mortified but eventually comes around to his idea that it was basically just what she needed and she becomes his devoted lover. They later stage her abduction and rape because they think it will create acceptance for them to be married.
Given that as in almost all historical fiction, this is the author's supposition of the motivation behind known events, it is the first time in many books I couldn't find any empathy, sympathy, or logic for Plaidy's version of events. Bothwell's violence and violation of Mary is too much to excuse to the point of her willingly marrying and becoming devoted to him. I can see a case for the version of events that has them staging her abduction and so on, but only if the relationship began willingly, not with his humiliation and injury of a very proud, in-control queen.
It's an even more unfortunate choice of events because all of the story leading up to it is so realistically and well imagined and written.
Given that as in almost all historical fiction, this is the author's supposition of the motivation behind known events, it is the first time in many books I couldn't find any empathy, sympathy, or logic for Plaidy's version of events. Bothwell's violence and violation of Mary is too much to excuse to the point of her willingly marrying and becoming devoted to him. I can see a case for the version of events that has them staging her abduction and so on, but only if the relationship began willingly, not with his humiliation and injury of a very proud, in-control queen.
It's an even more unfortunate choice of events because all of the story leading up to it is so realistically and well imagined and written.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 24, 2016
For all my reading about female rulers, I knew very little about Mary, Queen of Scots. Plaidy certainly takes some liberties in telling this tale but there is SO much going on here that this was a fun read. This book covers all of Mary’s life but it spends a lot more time on her younger years and then sort of gets to a frantic pace by the end right to her death. There are so many huge characters here – an child queen, the actual Queen and Mistress-Queen of France playing power games (hint: don’t count out the Medci or you’ll regret it), lots of men resenting that they aren’t the monarch, and lots of scheming to “enslave” Mary to them through love/lust/something. It was so frustrating at some moments wanting Mary to go for a weekend intensive at Elizabeth’s School of How to Have Your Court and the World by the Balls. If these two had been able to align their purposes, there would have been no end to what would have been achieved. But no – Elizabeth seems to spend most of her time laughing at what an idiot Mary keeps being. Oh, and lest we forget – a charming (not) firebrand preacher that has zero sense of self preservation and keeps wandering around calling both Queens whores of Babylon and preaching how everyone was going to hell because of this monstrous regiment of women ruling the Isles. Hot historical mess but the sort that is great fun to read.
July 29, 2011
While I knew about the tragic end of Mary, Queen of Scots I did not really know much about her early life. This book really does highlight the differences between her and England's Elizabeth, but I think at the same time it points out how they are similar...being manipulated by those around them and experiencing the pain of ended love. It wouldn't be historical fiction about royalty if there were not manipulative & calculating advisors and political plots. After a while it all gets rather frustrating. Why even have royalty if everyone is going to manipulate them and do what they want anyway...just take out the royalty stuck in the middle.
I thought the book was well-written but the end was very glossed over. But, I suppose the next book will detail what happens while Mary is held prisoner.
I thought the book was well-written but the end was very glossed over. But, I suppose the next book will detail what happens while Mary is held prisoner.
Read
March 6, 2012Fans of Philippa Gregory and Allison Weir should be sure not to miss Jean Plaidy. She’s the author of an entire series about the Queens of England, and you might enjoy their compelling stories and historical details. You may want to start with Royal Road to Fotheringhay , which tells the dramatic story of Mary, Queen of Scots.
March 15, 2009
First of Jean Plaidy's two books about Mary, Queen of Scots. Started off good (when she's in France), but got pretty slow in the middle once she came back to Scotland. It picked up towards the end, so I'm hoping the next book is better.
October 26, 2014
I tried. I really did try to continue and enjoy this book but, I could only get 30% through. It just did not hold my attention. Too much dithering around by all characters. I love Mary Stuart and her as a actual historical figure intrigues me so, but this fiction was a sad disapointment.
December 15, 2010
Ugh. Read Margaret George's Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles. It is SO MUCH BETTER.
March 19, 2025
To be honest, it needed to convince me more than a month should I continue to read this book or not. This book actually a kind of hisfic book that intrigued to read but the way that Jean Plaidy put many contexts of historical contexts makes my mood to read this book shrinked down. This book more likely to be called historical books rather that history-fiction itself
Few chapters storyline in the beginning of the book actually engaging to read. Telling how was the upbringing of Mary, Queen of Scots until he married with Francis II. Then she and him being ended up bear the title of Queen and King of France, and she ended up widowed because Francis tragic death and back to Scotland to take back the throne and try to make it become the land of Catholic faith again since there is religion war between Protestant and Catholic at that time. I was enjoying reading this book for the first 150 pages, nevertheless too many historical details and political upheaval that consists tons of lords in Scotland makes my head dizzy and make the storyline not focusing on Mary but focusing on these lords which make me bored to read the story furthermore. Since then I questioned, what is the purpose of this book? To tell the real history of political upheaval and conflicts in Scotland between the lords? Or to tell Mary Queen of Scots life in historical fiction form?
I ended up do not finish this book tbh. I stopped at page 286 as I cannot bear to read more as the context and main story is more telling the historical story of the lords in Scotland. So sorry but 2 out of 5, since I dont feel any enjoyment reading this book mainly.
Few chapters storyline in the beginning of the book actually engaging to read. Telling how was the upbringing of Mary, Queen of Scots until he married with Francis II. Then she and him being ended up bear the title of Queen and King of France, and she ended up widowed because Francis tragic death and back to Scotland to take back the throne and try to make it become the land of Catholic faith again since there is religion war between Protestant and Catholic at that time. I was enjoying reading this book for the first 150 pages, nevertheless too many historical details and political upheaval that consists tons of lords in Scotland makes my head dizzy and make the storyline not focusing on Mary but focusing on these lords which make me bored to read the story furthermore. Since then I questioned, what is the purpose of this book? To tell the real history of political upheaval and conflicts in Scotland between the lords? Or to tell Mary Queen of Scots life in historical fiction form?
I ended up do not finish this book tbh. I stopped at page 286 as I cannot bear to read more as the context and main story is more telling the historical story of the lords in Scotland. So sorry but 2 out of 5, since I dont feel any enjoyment reading this book mainly.
December 1, 2025
Like most of Plaidy's works, this is a fictionalized biography (in this case of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots). While the book technically covers her entire life, it effectively ends in 1567 with her forced abdication in favor of her son, the eventual James I; her flight to England, imprisonment, and eventual execution for plotting to assassinate Elizabeth I in 1586 is summed up a about five pages. It's an easy read and generally factually accurate, although the author does a fair bit of speculation on the thoughts and conversations of various figures. 2.5 stars.
January 31, 2023
Definitely an extremely dense writing style, but I found myself intrigued the entire time. There were so many unsavory characters, and I didn’t even like Mary all that much. However, it was so interesting to see this story in first person. So sad!
November 17, 2015
Ever since I was a child I had this morbid fascination with this time period. In particular, Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. She was my introduction to the world of Renaissance intrigue, passion and politics. I couldn't exactly say that I related to her - but her story affected me profoundly, to the point that today she is still my favourite history lesson.
Jean Plaidy has become a recent love of mine. I've read few of her books; I started with The Lady in the Tower with Anne Boleyn as the main character. After reading Philippa Gregory's attempt at capturing the Boleyn charm, I definitely found it lacking in comparison to Plaidy's - her interpretation of Anne was weak and somewhat two-dimensional, even outdated. But Plaidy's take on her, portraying her more sympathetically, was far more believable, and it quite honestly made me cry. So I knew I had to look it up and see if she had written anything on Mary Stuart.
The novel itself covers the major events in her early life; from her journey to France and indulging in the rich lifestyle of the sophisticated French courts, marrying the sickly Dauphin and becoming Queen, only to have him die - to returning to Scotland, marrying the awful Darnley, having her son, the intrigue with Bothwell and the Darnley murder plot, to finally being captured and imprisoned by the Scottish nobility.
I was impressed by the novel, and I am deeply surprised that there are so many negative reviews of this book; it is an excellent retelling of the early life of the Queen of Scots, and is quite clearly based on the author's interpretation of the facts, shown through the research done on the subject matter. I am inclined to think Mary was a good woman, if a weak and ineffectual leader, dominated by men who would later cause her downfall. I appreciated the fact that Plaidy didn't attempt to vilify either the Protestants or the Catholics too much (in my eyes, anyway).
I hands-down loved this novel, and I'm looking forward to reading the next one. I know I'll have to read Margaret George's version, but, even if it's just for a while, this book will remain close to my heart as a fond remembrance of my early childhood discoveries.
Jean Plaidy has become a recent love of mine. I've read few of her books; I started with The Lady in the Tower with Anne Boleyn as the main character. After reading Philippa Gregory's attempt at capturing the Boleyn charm, I definitely found it lacking in comparison to Plaidy's - her interpretation of Anne was weak and somewhat two-dimensional, even outdated. But Plaidy's take on her, portraying her more sympathetically, was far more believable, and it quite honestly made me cry. So I knew I had to look it up and see if she had written anything on Mary Stuart.
The novel itself covers the major events in her early life; from her journey to France and indulging in the rich lifestyle of the sophisticated French courts, marrying the sickly Dauphin and becoming Queen, only to have him die - to returning to Scotland, marrying the awful Darnley, having her son, the intrigue with Bothwell and the Darnley murder plot, to finally being captured and imprisoned by the Scottish nobility.
I was impressed by the novel, and I am deeply surprised that there are so many negative reviews of this book; it is an excellent retelling of the early life of the Queen of Scots, and is quite clearly based on the author's interpretation of the facts, shown through the research done on the subject matter. I am inclined to think Mary was a good woman, if a weak and ineffectual leader, dominated by men who would later cause her downfall. I appreciated the fact that Plaidy didn't attempt to vilify either the Protestants or the Catholics too much (in my eyes, anyway).
I hands-down loved this novel, and I'm looking forward to reading the next one. I know I'll have to read Margaret George's version, but, even if it's just for a while, this book will remain close to my heart as a fond remembrance of my early childhood discoveries.
May 10, 2025
fand es relativ anstrengend zu lesen und an einigen Stellen doch auch ein wenig problematisch
July 1, 2013
Jean Plaidy reveals her steadfast grasp of historical storytelling in this engaging account of the first half of the life of Mary, Queen of Scots. It's a short, eventful read with a large cast of sinister characters who'll do anything in their power to manipulate the queen for their own ends.
As I know next to nothing about Mary's story, I used this as a kind of educational novel to help teach me about her (and, I confess, that's the reason I've picked up so many Plaidy novels over the years). It works a treat in this respect, providing historical details and a real air of authenticity along with plenty of entertainment along the way.
Plaidy is particularly good at creating larger than life characters, from Mary's ultra-sleazy uncle, a Cardinal, to the swaggering Borderer, Bothwell. Such characters are hugely enjoyable to read about, and Plaidy's writing style makes them all the better. She has a way of writing that feels courtly and understated - it may be a product of the era in which she was working - so that even the most outrageous scandal takes place almost matter-of-factly. Bearing in mind that this story was written 60 or so years ago, there are some elements that may be off-putting to modern readers, particularly a rape situation that turns into a love affair.
In any case, I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to devour the sequel, THE CAPTIVE QUEEN OF SCOTS.
As I know next to nothing about Mary's story, I used this as a kind of educational novel to help teach me about her (and, I confess, that's the reason I've picked up so many Plaidy novels over the years). It works a treat in this respect, providing historical details and a real air of authenticity along with plenty of entertainment along the way.
Plaidy is particularly good at creating larger than life characters, from Mary's ultra-sleazy uncle, a Cardinal, to the swaggering Borderer, Bothwell. Such characters are hugely enjoyable to read about, and Plaidy's writing style makes them all the better. She has a way of writing that feels courtly and understated - it may be a product of the era in which she was working - so that even the most outrageous scandal takes place almost matter-of-factly. Bearing in mind that this story was written 60 or so years ago, there are some elements that may be off-putting to modern readers, particularly a rape situation that turns into a love affair.
In any case, I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to devour the sequel, THE CAPTIVE QUEEN OF SCOTS.
December 19, 2022
Dnf. I really wanted to love this book. I love anything about Mary Queen of Scots. I just can’t make myself finish it though. Here’s the gist of the whole story: Mary is the most beautiful, gorgeous, sexy, charming, pretty, enchanting, insert any other synonym you can think of for good looking here girl that ever lived and every man in Scotland and France desires her. Now, keep in mind, we’re talking about a child here in the beginning of the book. 6 years old and her uncle, Cardinal Whatshisface, is telling her other uncle how he basically lusts after this little girl. Then it moves on to him fondling, groping, kissing her in the mouth, etc. I just wanted to gag. I tried to tell myself that it would get better, but it didn’t. Kept going back to Uncle Pedo. And the repetitive statements about her beauty and how everyone thinks she’s the most gorgeous thing they’ve ever laid eyes upon gets old after a while. I’ve read a lot of books about the Queen of Scots and none of them have ever focused so much on her beauty. Was she the most beautiful woman that ever lived? Possibly. It’s pretty boring to read about though. I also don’t like the constant switching perspectives. There is no separation to show when it’s switching, it’s just very random. I don’t like the writing style at all. If this authors books are all like this, I guess they’re probably not for me. It’s unfortunate because I love historical fiction but very few can write it well.
December 26, 2018
3.7
' The Queen of England was governed by ambition, The Queen of Scots by her emotions '
It has been a very long time since I have read a book of Jean Plaidy, Queen of This Realm. It's about Queen Elizabeth I which I do love so much. Now 2018, I get ready for the film ' Mary, Queen of Scots ' I picked ' The Royal Road to Fotheringhay ' And again. Jean Plaidy didn't disappoint me.
First half of the book it's about Queen Mary childhood to get start to understand her complex character. For me, it's good but it's unnecessary long. Then the last half of the book, It's about Mary the woman. I didn't like it at first, then I became to understand what kind of woman she turns to be, a naive and an emotional person. She was surrounded by a crowd of hanger-on who led her life to the nasty endings. A bit slow for this one but I did satisfy in somehow.
Warning : Beware of confusing too many characters, and position names
' The Queen of England was governed by ambition, The Queen of Scots by her emotions '
It has been a very long time since I have read a book of Jean Plaidy, Queen of This Realm. It's about Queen Elizabeth I which I do love so much. Now 2018, I get ready for the film ' Mary, Queen of Scots ' I picked ' The Royal Road to Fotheringhay ' And again. Jean Plaidy didn't disappoint me.
First half of the book it's about Queen Mary childhood to get start to understand her complex character. For me, it's good but it's unnecessary long. Then the last half of the book, It's about Mary the woman. I didn't like it at first, then I became to understand what kind of woman she turns to be, a naive and an emotional person. She was surrounded by a crowd of hanger-on who led her life to the nasty endings. A bit slow for this one but I did satisfy in somehow.
Warning : Beware of confusing too many characters, and position names
January 13, 2023
Mary Stuart, the Queen of Scotland, has had many difficulties throughout her royal life. After being sent to France and wedded to the French prince Mary's life seems to be wonderful. Unfortunately after her young husband dies Mary realizes that she cannot trust those she did before. No man, other than her young dead king, can Mary trust. Yet, she constantly puts her trust in the wrong men and falls in love too quickly. Her life ends at the block in Fotheringhay Castle. I really enjoyed this book! It was another wonderful historical novel by Jean Plaidy. I truly love how Plaidy makes the reader feel conflicted about almost every character including Mary Stuart. It is a good book and a book I had problems putting down.
July 4, 2009
Although many of Plaidy's books can be on the dry side, I really liked this one. It is pretty straightforward and Plaidy doesn't seem to try and portray Mary too sympathetically. A pawn in various power struggles from the time she is an infant, Mary makes decisions based on emotion without stopping to consider the consequences. But seeing as how she was really given very little guidance on how to rule (people just told her what to do) maybe it shouldn't come as a surprise. The first in a two-volume series, Royal Road to Fotheringay covers Mary's years at the French court and her two subsequent marriages after she returns to Scotland.
June 5, 2014
So I am obsessed with the TV show Reign. I know, I know - it's not historically accurate with either plot, costume or characters. I loved Jean Plaidy growing up so I thought I would give her version a try. It was full of good historical fact and nicely written. Although when dealing with accuracy, it tends to be a little dry. Mary, Queen of Scots, life was anything but dry. I enjoyed reading about the first half of her life (to me the good half). The second half is spent in a castle locked away to ensure Elizabeth's reign. Which, if you think about it, is pretty funny considering the throne reverted to Mary's son when Elizabeth died.
June 24, 2009
The best book I've ever read about Mary Queen of Scots was Margaret George's historical fiction. This one was written way before...and has plenty of Plaidy's florid style which alternates between charm and tedium. I enjoy Plaidy enough to try to read all of her re-released historical royalty series, but perhaps I'm a bit of a masochist.
March 20, 2015
I'm not a fan of the slave like love Queen Mary felt for Bothwell in this version. I do believe she loved him enough to risk crown and country, but, I'm also a firm believer that not all those casket letters were genuine.
All in all, not the most exciting telling of the tragic Queen of Scots, but fairly good.
All in all, not the most exciting telling of the tragic Queen of Scots, but fairly good.
February 21, 2018
Punctuation(less) and plodding
This book suffers from an identity-crisis. I've read YA fiction that is more consistently engaging. This book is neither consistent, adult or engaging. I forced my way through, despite innumerable punctuation omissions, because I try my hardest to finish a book.
This book suffers from an identity-crisis. I've read YA fiction that is more consistently engaging. This book is neither consistent, adult or engaging. I forced my way through, despite innumerable punctuation omissions, because I try my hardest to finish a book.
April 11, 2012
Plaidy's books always look so daunting for their length but they usually end up being quick reads as was the case for the Royal Road to Fotheringay. All of her characters though do end up reading very much the same and it is only the circumstances of history which set them apart.
September 3, 2008
One of the reasons that I think I liked this book so much is because I'm related to Mary, Queen of Scots...completely aside from that, I think it's a great book and am definitely planning on reading Plaidy's other books.
March 31, 2016
Este libro fue el largo conducto hacia el inevitablemente triste final.
Creo que fue interesante ver a Mary desde el punto de vista de la protagonista y no la villana como cuando leemos o vemos algo acerca de Elizabeth donde ella solo está protegiendo su trono.
Creo que fue interesante ver a Mary desde el punto de vista de la protagonista y no la villana como cuando leemos o vemos algo acerca de Elizabeth donde ella solo está protegiendo su trono.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews