[Editor’s Note: The following is a combined review with MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE MURDER OF LORD DARNLEY.]--In the national portrait gallery in Edinburgh, there once was a crudely painted portrait of Mary Queen of Scots. From one angle, one beheld a vision of a lovely woman; from the other the flesh peeled away and left only a grisly skeleton. That is the compelling dichotomy that has bewitched centuries of scholars and history buffs. Mary is the subject of two distinguished, but also distinctly different, recent biographies. Alison Weir attacks the central mystery of Mary’s life--the murder of her husband, Lord Darnley--and sets the stage for an eventful night in Edinburgh with meticulous detail. The house where Darnley is staying is blown to bits, and his unscathed body is found nearby, apparently flung free in the blast. Davina Porter narrates masterfully, conveying the gruffness of Scots lords and the lilt of Mary’s more musical and feminine voice. The intricacies of court intrigue are rendered more coherent through her characterizations, and this truly scholarly work becomes accessible to a broader audience through her skill. Weir and Porter’s queen is a highly emotional and intelligent woman of intrigue. John Guy reads his compelling Queen of Scots himself, bringing his years of experience in lecture halls to this more intimate medium. His is the more complete biography, setting Mary squarely into a time that in turn sends her careening down her doomed path and into the popular imagination. Guy seems to understand his strengths as an audio performer and steers away from investing each character in the tableau with a unique voice. He delivers his captivating story in a clear, unadorned way, which neither adds to nor detracts from the spellbinding text. E.E.M. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine
An intimate, myth-shattering new biography of Mary Queen of Scots by a premier historian that draws on a trove of newly discovered sources.Queen of Scots, the first full-scale biography of Mary in more than thirty years, offers a singularly novel, nuanced, and dramatic portrait of one of history's greatest women.
John Guy draws on sources -- many previously unstudied -- as varied as the secret communiques of English spies and Mary's own letters.
Dispelled is the ingrained popular image of Mary as a romantic leading lady, achieving her ends through feminine wiles, driven by love to murder, undone by passion and bad judgment. We come to see her as an emotionally intricate woman and an adroit diplomat, maneuvering ingeniously among a dizzying array of factions who sought to control or dethrone her. Guy's investigation of Mary's storied downfall throws sharp new light on questions that have baffled historians for centuries, and offers convincing new evidence that she was framed for the murder for which she was beheaded.
An intimate, myth-shattering new biography of Mary Queen of Scots by a premier historian that draws on a trove of newly discovered sources.Queen of Scots, the first full-scale biography of Mary in more than thirty years, offers a singularly novel, nuanced, and dramatic portrait of one of history's greatest women.
John Guy draws on sources -- many previously unstudied -- as varied as the secret communiques of English spies and Mary's own letters.
Dispelled is the ingrained popular image of Mary as a romantic leading lady, achieving her ends through feminine wiles, driven by love to murder, undone by passion and bad judgment. We come to see her as an emotionally intricate woman and an adroit diplomat, maneuvering ingeniously among a dizzying array of factions who sought to control or dethrone her. Guy's investigation of Mary's storied downfall throws sharp new light on questions that have baffled historians for centuries, and offers convincing new evidence that she was framed for the murder for which she was beheaded.
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940170151721 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins |
| Publication date: | 06/15/2004 |
| Edition description: | Abridged |
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