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Mary Queen of Scots: An Illustrated Life
Mary, Queen of Scots polarized entire nations, weathered multiple romantic scandals, and immersed herself in intrigues and subterfuge to advance her claim to the British throne—a prolonged political battle which culminated in her notoriously botched and bloody beheading at the decree of Elizabeth I. It’s no wonder she has captured the imaginations of millions over the centuries, or that her dramatic life story has been recounted in plays, poems, songs, operas, and films. But now Susan Doran offers a fresh and compelling look at Mary’s life, narrated through vivid illustrations and analysis of the documents that form the original basis of our knowledge of this celebrated figure.
An acclaimed scholar of Elizabethan history, Doran expertly recreates the life and work of Mary, Queen of Scots in an engaging and informed narrative, revealing a wholly new—and deeply human—dimension to her tumultuous and tragic saga. From her flight to France to the murders of her secretary and second husband to her final eighteen years as a virtual prisoner in England, each major stage of Mary’s life unfolds in fascinating detail, as Doran draws from a vast array of archival materials—including numerous letters and records set in their full historical context—and vivid portraiture from the period.
This brilliantly illustrated biography of Mary, Queen of Scots paints a compelling and engrossing picture of the infamous queen and her tempestuous life. An invaluable read for every Anglophile, Mary Queen of Scots places the queen squarely on her rightful historical throne.
An acclaimed scholar of Elizabethan history, Doran expertly recreates the life and work of Mary, Queen of Scots in an engaging and informed narrative, revealing a wholly new—and deeply human—dimension to her tumultuous and tragic saga. From her flight to France to the murders of her secretary and second husband to her final eighteen years as a virtual prisoner in England, each major stage of Mary’s life unfolds in fascinating detail, as Doran draws from a vast array of archival materials—including numerous letters and records set in their full historical context—and vivid portraiture from the period.
This brilliantly illustrated biography of Mary, Queen of Scots paints a compelling and engrossing picture of the infamous queen and her tempestuous life. An invaluable read for every Anglophile, Mary Queen of Scots places the queen squarely on her rightful historical throne.
191 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2007
About the author
Susan Doran
25 books61 followersDr Susan Doran is a British historian whose primary studies surround the reign of Elizabeth I, in particular the theme of marriage and succession. She has published and edited sixteen books, most notably Elizabeth I and Religion, 1558-1603, Monarchy and Matrimony and Queen Elizabeth I, part of the British Library's Historic Lives series.
She is currently a tutor and member of the history faculty at Christ Church, Oxford University where her specific area of interest is stated as being Early Modern British and European history. Previously, Doran was a reader in history, Senior Lecturer in History and Teaching Studies and Director of the History Programme at St Mary's College, Strawberry Hill, part of the University of Surrey.
She is also a Director of Studies for history at Regent's Park College and Senior Research Fellow for History at Jesus College
She is currently a tutor and member of the history faculty at Christ Church, Oxford University where her specific area of interest is stated as being Early Modern British and European history. Previously, Doran was a reader in history, Senior Lecturer in History and Teaching Studies and Director of the History Programme at St Mary's College, Strawberry Hill, part of the University of Surrey.
She is also a Director of Studies for history at Regent's Park College and Senior Research Fellow for History at Jesus College
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 19, 2017
Published by the British Library, this makes excellent use of the papers (textual and pictorial) held there to illustrate Mary Queen of Scots' life. Ranging from portraits (some familiar, others less so) to letters, legal documents, drawings from trials and investigations, through to modern photos of key locations, this makes MQoS's life visual. Additions are provided from other archives and the Royal Collection to supplement the BL's own holdings.
Doran's narrative of the life is brisk and generally balanced. She's no apologist for MQoS but is usually fair in her summings up. She also offers an up-to-date bibliography (2007) and an assessment of the primary sources used.
This works well as either a brief introduction to the narrative arc of MQoS's eventful life or as a reminder of key events for anyone interested in specific aspects (the 'casket sonnets' in my case). But it's the illustrations that make this a book to be owned.
Doran's narrative of the life is brisk and generally balanced. She's no apologist for MQoS but is usually fair in her summings up. She also offers an up-to-date bibliography (2007) and an assessment of the primary sources used.
This works well as either a brief introduction to the narrative arc of MQoS's eventful life or as a reminder of key events for anyone interested in specific aspects (the 'casket sonnets' in my case). But it's the illustrations that make this a book to be owned.
August 8, 2019
Mary, Queen of Scots is much less remembered for her actual monarchial role as Queen and more so for her soap opera-level dramatic personal life. Her person is very much ‘love her or hate her’ (I am in the “love her” camp) but whatever her image; Mary will indeed be remembered for all prosperity. Historian Susan Doran recaps Mary’s life in, “Mary Queen of Scots: An Illustrated Life”.
Doran’s “Mary Queen of Scots” takes a coffee table book approach to history complete with glossy pages and multiple colorful photos, documents, and illustrations – some presented in public eye print for the first time. Doran explores Mary’s entire biographical life beginning with her birth and investigating each major event in her life. The issue lies therein: “Mary Queen of Scots” is very much a dry, scholarly rehashing, lacking a smooth, readable narrative and any essence that would make the text sticky. This results in passages begging to be skimmed rather than read cover-to-cover.
That being said, Doran does present occasional information which is new to even those readers familiar with Mary’s life but sadly none of these are truly elaborated or broken down. Doran missed the target on making “Mary Queen of Scots” stand out in the crowd of Mary Stuart biographies.
“Mary Queen of Scots” is best used in the context of an overview rather than a detailed look at Mary’s life. Significantly, Doran doesn’t push biases or point fingers at any key figures for any of the historic events which took place. However, she does pen occasional, “In my opinion” – paragraphs. Notably, even these are still ‘light’ and almost objective in nature.
The text within “Mary Queen of Scots” is heightened by the supplemented illustrations which are described by clear and concise captions; presented in a way similar to a visual exhibit on Mary’s life which could be found in a museum. In fact, “Mary Queen of Scots” reads like an exhibit accompaniment and could easily be found as such.
Doran has the habit of glossing over important and famous events and occurrences (the murder of Rizzio and Darnley for example, respectively) which weakens the text. Another Doran trait is that of too often quoting contemporary biographers and historians making “Mary Queen of Scots” come off as a college term paper rather than a credible text.
“Mary Queen of Scots” picks up the pace when Doran illuminates Mary’s house arrest in England under the tutelage of Queen Elizabeth. These concluding chapters bring a more relatable and emotional breakdown to Mary that doesn’t exist in the former portions of the text.
Despite this boost of invigoration to “Mary Queen of Scots”, the ending is neither memorable nor enlightening feeling abrupt and bland. Doran attempts to rehabilitate this absence with light notes, sources for further reading and a chronological timeline concerning events in Mary’s life.
Although “Mary Queen of Scots” has the perk of presenting exhibit-worthy illustrations and documents; Doran’s text fails to reveal Mary or portray her life in a memorable narrative. Yes, this is a coffee table style-book and therefore a summary is expected but even considering that target; “Mary Queen of Scots” still fails. “Mary Queen of Scots” is only suggested for staunch followers of Mary and the Stuarts who HAVE to read all available materials on the subject.
Doran’s “Mary Queen of Scots” takes a coffee table book approach to history complete with glossy pages and multiple colorful photos, documents, and illustrations – some presented in public eye print for the first time. Doran explores Mary’s entire biographical life beginning with her birth and investigating each major event in her life. The issue lies therein: “Mary Queen of Scots” is very much a dry, scholarly rehashing, lacking a smooth, readable narrative and any essence that would make the text sticky. This results in passages begging to be skimmed rather than read cover-to-cover.
That being said, Doran does present occasional information which is new to even those readers familiar with Mary’s life but sadly none of these are truly elaborated or broken down. Doran missed the target on making “Mary Queen of Scots” stand out in the crowd of Mary Stuart biographies.
“Mary Queen of Scots” is best used in the context of an overview rather than a detailed look at Mary’s life. Significantly, Doran doesn’t push biases or point fingers at any key figures for any of the historic events which took place. However, she does pen occasional, “In my opinion” – paragraphs. Notably, even these are still ‘light’ and almost objective in nature.
The text within “Mary Queen of Scots” is heightened by the supplemented illustrations which are described by clear and concise captions; presented in a way similar to a visual exhibit on Mary’s life which could be found in a museum. In fact, “Mary Queen of Scots” reads like an exhibit accompaniment and could easily be found as such.
Doran has the habit of glossing over important and famous events and occurrences (the murder of Rizzio and Darnley for example, respectively) which weakens the text. Another Doran trait is that of too often quoting contemporary biographers and historians making “Mary Queen of Scots” come off as a college term paper rather than a credible text.
“Mary Queen of Scots” picks up the pace when Doran illuminates Mary’s house arrest in England under the tutelage of Queen Elizabeth. These concluding chapters bring a more relatable and emotional breakdown to Mary that doesn’t exist in the former portions of the text.
Despite this boost of invigoration to “Mary Queen of Scots”, the ending is neither memorable nor enlightening feeling abrupt and bland. Doran attempts to rehabilitate this absence with light notes, sources for further reading and a chronological timeline concerning events in Mary’s life.
Although “Mary Queen of Scots” has the perk of presenting exhibit-worthy illustrations and documents; Doran’s text fails to reveal Mary or portray her life in a memorable narrative. Yes, this is a coffee table style-book and therefore a summary is expected but even considering that target; “Mary Queen of Scots” still fails. “Mary Queen of Scots” is only suggested for staunch followers of Mary and the Stuarts who HAVE to read all available materials on the subject.
July 1, 2026
This was an overall ok read, quite dry and sometimes difficult to follow who is who (unfortunately for the writer most historical figures share names adding to the confusion). However, I did enjoy the pictures, diagrams and interesting tales that seemed well balanced. I did find the order somewhat confusing, mostly in chronological order apart from the odd page thrown in with an explanation of something that hasn't happened yet, in between a sentence from the previous page. This was quite confusing and made it harder to follow the story. Definitely benefitted from the timeline of events at the end of the book
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews