Mary, Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley

Rating:
Summary: Another Fine Weir History
Review: Mary, Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley by Alison Weir is exactly what the title promises. That should not be a surprise but, as the book is almost six hundred pages long, it is a bit suprising. I was expecting much more tangential information to fill out the story but the author has kept the focus sharp and drives the narrative forward in a clean straight line. This is everything one will ever need to know about the murder of Lord Darnley and in that respect the book is entertaining, informative and will be a wonderful addition for all Alison Weir fans. The only caveat is that the book could have used a little more editing in spots, particularly where the author drives home her points repeatedly. This is not the best Tudor-period history book that Alison Weir has written , of which there are many and all are recommended highly, but is still much better than most out there.

Rating:
Summary: Well researched, but ...
Review: The subjects of Alison Weir's most recent effort, Mary Stewart and her murdered husband Henry Darnley, remain fascinatingly dichotomous: they both had repulsive character flaws and yet were privileged, unusually attractive, and played central roles during a pivotal time in 16th C. Scottish history.

Weir, unfortunately, isn't capable of an objective analysis of her meticulously researched material. She can't keep Mary at an emotional arm's length and this inability has completely undermined Weir's credibility, transforming her tome into a confusing brief by a sychophantic advocate.

Mary, though promoted for centuries as a tragic figure and a victim of her unruly nobles, was so unsuited to her royal position that her hapless life/death were utterly predictable. Not only was she extremely unintelligent and shallow, but she lacked even nominal skills at statescraft. Her queenship was a disaster and her personal life was a mess. But Weir won't let Mary take any of the blame. Oh no, not Mary. Lest you forget, she was a victim of all those bad men and uncontrollable circumstances. Poor lamb.

Darnley, whom Mary so desperately wanted because he was tall, beautiful and had great legs, turned out to be one of the most obnoxious consorts of all time - so awful that he has become a caricature of vanity, duplicity and greed. Mary, who wasn't much better, had to get rid of him and, rather like Henry II's stated desire to rid himself of the turbulent Becket, she apparently set Darnley's murder at Kirk 'o Fields into motion.

But Weir, while reluctantly acknowledging Mary's motive and the substantial evidence pointing to her involvment in the plot, has zealously offered the "it wasn't me, it was that guy over there" defense. And it just doesn't work.

Weir, in fact, deforms the evidence indicting Mary in such a ham-handed fashion that this reader repeatedly put the book down in disgust, only to pick it back up to see just how far Weir was willing to go. And it is farther than any legitimate biographer or historian can - or should - go.

Rating:
Summary: Mary, Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley
Review: This book is very well written and has a strong voice behind it, but definitly puts the authenticity of the Casket Letters in a bad light. Overall the author did very thorough research for this book and it is packed with hundreds of details of everything from the murder to the Casket Letters. An interesting read.

Rating:
Summary: Good, Entertaining Story
Review: This is a hard one to write about. On one hand, I don't have any particular emotional attachment to whether or not Mary, Queen of Scots, was involved in her abusive husband's death-- I'd probably think more of her if she had been. On the other hand, there is a lot of criticism of Alison Weir's historical research.

I honestly suggest that if you like an interesting bit of popular history speculation about an odd (if ultimately significant) event in Scottish history that this book can provide a few diverting hours. There's also extensive footnotes and a bibliography if you want to check her sources and draw your own conclusions.

Personally, I always liked the theory that Elizabeth I dangled Darnley in front of Mary knowing she would snap at such attractive bait and end up with a weak and dissolute husband, who would keep the political situation in Scotland in turmoil and the power effectively in the hands of Mary's Protestant advisers. Weir discusses the various aspects of the negotiations between Elizabeth and Mary about Mary's marriage but doesn't plump down on one side or the other of this theory--of course that's only a sidelight of a very complex political and religious situation.

So if you aren't emotionally attached already to a theory about Darnley's death or Mary's personality and you have a few hours to spend reading, this would be a pleasant book to pass the time with.

Rating:
Summary: Balanced and thorough, but a little dry
Review: This is not an introductory-level book. I would only recommend it for those who already have a reasonably good knowledge of the period. The book more-or-less assumes that you are already familiar with the issues surrounding the succession to the English throne in the 16th century, that you already know the royal family trees, that you understand something of the Catholic-Protestant conflicts of the time, that you know who William Cecil and Robert Dudley were, etc. It's not light reading, and it focuses in depth on only one specific issue.

The general impression of Scottish politics at this time is of dozens of ruthless, power-seeking noblemen all changing sides, lying, scheming, and double-crossing each other at a rapid rate. The numerous documents relating to Darnley's murder (of which the Casket Letters are only a small, though vital, part) are almost all filled with contradictions, inconsistencies, blatant omissions, deliberate distortions, and attempts to blame or clear specific individuals; and are closely tied to political, religious or financial interests. To try to find the truth in this whole mess is like cleaning the Augean stables. Weir has done about as good a job as anyone could, in analyzing everything logically and looking at it in the light of common sense. I think that this book makes a real contribution to the topic.

Weir says about her conclusion, "Even after extensive research, I believed, as I began to write this book, that Mary was guilty. But when I came to analyse the source material in depth, it became increasingly obvious that such a conclusion was not possible." She makes a good, clear, well-reasoned, consistent case, always referring back to the original sources and weighing them carefully.

Mary comes across as politically naive and prone to major errors of judgment. On many occasions she was also physically very ill and mentally close to a nervous breakdown. She was often at the mercy of the 'wolf-like earls' surrounding her, but it must also be said that she tried (unsuccessfully) to play a double game on various occasions, saying one thing to one person and the opposite to someone else.

I have to say that, even though the book is well written, I didn't find it all that enjoyable. There wasn't a single person in it that I could really identify with or sympathize with - not even Mary. I think that this is not so much a reflection on the author, as on the unappealing people and circumstances she has chosen to write about. I've thoroughly enjoyed several of Alison Weir's other books and the writing and scholarship here is up to the same high standard. It's just that the subject matter is a bit dull.

I found myself not really caring whether Morton was lying to Maitland, or whether Moray was manipulating Mar and Morton, or whether Maitland was trying to betray Mary and Moray, or whether it was all the other way round this particular month. After chapters of this kind of thing, it became a bit much. Like the Earl of Sussex, I was disgusted by "the inconstancy and subtleness of the people with whom we deal."

Darnley himself was an extremely unpleasant character - arrogant, spoiled, stupid, self-centered, superficial, devious, and untrustworthy - and his death left most people cold. Elizabeth I, Darnley's relative, wrote to Mary after his murder, "I cannot conceal that I grieve more for you than for him."

Unless you have some special interest in the issue of Darnley's murder, I would recommend that you rather try 'The Life of Elizabeth I' or 'Henry VIII, the King and his Court', or one of the other excellent books by Weir.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, well-researched
Review: This is the best-researched and most definitive account of the centuries-long controversy over the murder of Lord Darnley. Ms. Weir convincingly lays down her case that Mary was probably not a murderer. For those interested in this period and in history, it is quite interesting indeed.

However, I do believe the reader from OC was overly harsh with Mary. She did have poor judgement with Darnley but she did show intelligence, balance, and staminia during her rule in Scotland. Her policy of allowing the Protestant revolution of just one year earlier, even her mother had fought against them, and it was against her own beliefs, was a deft move. She faced a revolt in her first year of rule by Lord Huntly and dealt with it well, securing the loyalty of the Lords very quickly. Additionally, she would not have married Darnley if she had been able to secure one of several continental matches (plus an English one), including Philip of Spain, but these were refused because Scotland was considered too small and poor a country to be important. Overall, that she managed to keep stability in Scotland for six years is quite impressive. The country was torn with strife and war for the decade preceding her arrival, and it was torn with strife and war for many decades following her deposition. None of the supposedly crafty Scottish Lords in this tale secured power for very long, and indeed most did not survive as long as Mary did.

Rating:
Summary: Very interesting perception
Review: This proves to be a pretty interesting book. Alison Weir make an excellent case in stating that Mary, Queen of Scots was not involved in murder of her husband. Her condemnation of the Casket letters appears to be the center point of her case. Since these letters damned Mary, they must be forgeries or else the whole book is meaningless. I am sure that there will be many historians out there who will not agreed with Weir's interpetation and perception but her reasoning appears to be quite fair. Weir does a good job in portarying Mary as an immature, over stressed, under educated and extremely incompetence ruler but not a murderess. Her actions at times were so illogical that it really do defied common sense. Alison Weir does some excellent research and I would considered this to be an excellent supplemental work along with Antonia Fraser's Mary, Queen of Scots book. And its excellent reading material all the way.