Mary, Queen of Scots : Queen Without a Country

Nice palate cleanser after Hornets Nest.... ( )

I absolutely love the entire Royal Diaries series. They are all incredibly brilliant. MY favorite are Jahanara, Eleanor and Lady of Ch'iao Kuo. They're a great way to learn history. ( )

Lately, I've returned to reading books of the Tudor period of history. This one was noted on the LT recommendations link on my home page.

It is a simple tale of a complex woman. There is nothing in depth about this book and I skimmed parts that seemed boring and trite.

Mary was six days old when her father, King James V of Scotland, died on the battlefield. At nine months of age, she was crowned queen of Scotland.

This book does not focus on the complexity of her tragic life, rather it reflects the time period when, as a very young child, she was sent to France to live in the court of King Henry II. An alliance was formed to wed Mary to King Henry's son Frances.

At eleven years of age she was care free when living in various palaces of the King. Her future husband Frances was her dear childhood friend. The book focuses on this idyllic time of her life.

While I cannot highly recommend this book, there were interesting portions, including the descriptions of Queen Catherine de'Medici and King Henry's infamous mistress Diane de Poitiers.

As always, when reading historical fiction, I'm lead down a path to study other figures. I'll look for more information regarding Diane de Poitiers. She appears to have been a fascinating woman.

Mary, Queen of Scots, by Kathryn Lasky is a wonderful book. It is about an eleven year old girl named Mary who is named Queen of Scotland. She lives in castle in France with many gaurds and teachers. The book, her diary, tells about her worries,pleasures,friends, and enemies. Queen Mary has four friends named Mary, Mary fleming, Mary Beaton, Mary Seton, and Mary Livingston. She also is friends with Francis, Dauphin of France, who she is to marry in a few years. To find out some of her adventures, read Mary, Queen of Scots! ( )

Mary became Queen of Scotland when she was just a baby, after the death of her father. But in a time where alliances among the powerful nations of Europe are important, Mary is sent away from her home at age five to live in the court of King Henry II of France, where she will be educated and live as one of the family until she old enough to marry Henry's son, Francis. The year is 1553, and Mary is eleven. She longs for her homeland, and for her mother, but is good friends with nine-year-old Francis and the other royal children. In her diary, Mary describes her daily life over one year. She may be a queen, but in many ways Mary is just like any eleven-year-old girl, enjoying fun and games. but at the same time longing to return to her home and mother. I really enjoyed this wonderful new Royal Diaries book, and I recommend it to all fans of the series. ( )