Mary, Queen of Scots : politics, passion and a kingdom lost
2001, Revised Edition. Tauris Parke Paperbacks. Fine paperback copy. Particularly and surprisingly well-preserved; tight, bright, clean and especially sharp-cornered. Item #437393
ISBN: 1860645887
Summary; "Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, was one of history's romantically tragic figures. Devious, naive, beautiful and sexually voracious, often highly principled, this was a woman who had secured the Scottish throne and bolstered the position of the Catholic Church in Scotland. Her endless plotting, including a probable involvement in the murder of her husband Lord Darnley, eventually led to her flight from Scotland and imprisonment by her equally ambitious cousin and fellow queen, Elizabeth of England. And yet when Elizabeth ordered her unpredictable rival and kinswoman to be beheaded in 1587 she did so in resigned frustation rather than as an act of political wrath." "Was the beheading of a cousin truly necessary? Did Mary, though churlish, petulant and often disloyal, really deserve to forfeit the compassion of her cousin, a woman who had since childhood been her friend and playmate?" "Mary's fragile fate was to be born to supreme power whilst totally lacking in the political ability to deal with its responsibilities. Her extraordinary story, which has inspired the great poets, playwrights and operatic composers of the centuries, is one of the most colourful and emotionally searing tales of western history, and is here told by a leading specialist of the period. Jenny Wormald's beautifully written biography will appeal to students and general readers alike." Physical Description; 208 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 20 cm. Contents; Legend or history? 1587-1987 - Queen's inheritance 1424-1542 - Minority: Mary's first wooing 1542-50 - Minority: the Auld Alliance rampant 1548-60 - Reluctant ruler 1560-5 - Of marriages and murders 1563-7 - Queen without a realm 1567-87. Subjects; 1542-1567. Biographies. Biography. France. France History Francis II, 1559-1560. History. Mary, Queen of Scots, 1542-1587. Queens. Queens France Biography. Queens Scotland Biography. Scotland. Scotland History Mary Stuart, 1542-1567. collective biographies.
Price: €12.95