Royal Road to Fotheringhay by Jean Plaidy

Rating: ★★★★☆

"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found it lacking in comparison to Plaidy's - her interpretation of Anne was weak and somewhat two-dimensional, even outdated.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."

This was my review on Goodreads; after some reflection, and a means of comparison, I have to say that this is an easy introduction to the life of Mary Queen of Scots. If you're looking for a simple way to edge into her world, I'd start with this one. The language is uncomplicated, and the story flows fairly well. I admittedly now have a slight issue with the way she is presented in the novel. She comes off as weak and somewhat stupid, always ready to relinquish control to the men in her life. There's some inconsistencies with her character too, with her displaying strength one minute and doing a complete one-eighty the next. But other than that it is really quite a good novel.  I'd recommend this over Margaret George's rendition, as it is much less daunting and far easier to get through.