Scourge of Henry VIII
The Life of Marie de Guise
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3.3 • 3 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
The little-known story of the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots and her feud with the Tudors: “Will fascinate anyone who loves a simmering, twisting tale” (All About History).
Mary, Queen of Scots continues to intrigue both historians and the general public—but the story of her mother, Marie de Guise, is much less well known. A political power in her own right, she was born into the powerful and ambitious Lorraine family, spending her formative years at the dazzling, licentious court of François I. Although briefly courted by Henry VIII, she instead married his nephew, James V of Scotland, in 1538.
James’s premature death four years later left their six-day-old daughter, Mary, as queen, and presented Marie with the formidable challenge of winning the support of the Scottish people and protecting her daughter’s threatened birthright. Content until now to remain in the background and play the part of the obedient wife, Marie spent the next eighteen years effectively governing Scotland—devoting her considerable intellect, courage, and energy to safeguarding her daughter’s inheritance by using a deft mixture of cunning, charm, determination, and tolerance. This biography, from the author of Marie Antoinette: An Intimate History, tells the story and offers a fresh assessment of this most fascinating and underappreciated of sixteenth-century female rulers.
Customer Reviews
Factual and Dry
I acknowledge at the start that as a deep lover of history, I MUCH prefer reading historical fiction to biography. And this book reminded me why.
It's a straight-forward, chronological piecing-together of people, events and facts -- some directly-related and some tangentially related to Marie de Guise. Reading it mostly feels a lot like many not-very-interesting history lessons I remember from school decades ago.
I picked it up because I knew little about Marie, except that she gave birth to Mary Queen of Scots. And I DID learn more about her. More about her powerful family in France. About her first husband and son in France. About the children she lost. About her eagerness to become Regent of Scotland after the sudden death of her husband, James V. But was it interesting? Not very.
I wound up skimming sections. Especially because there was a lot of information included about LOTS of other people, other than Marie. For example, a detailed description of the Field of the Cloth of Gold meeting between Henry VIII of England and Francois I of France -- in 1520. An important historical event? Arguable. But not having much to do with Marie de Guise.
I can't say I recommend this, unless you're desperate to know more about Marie de Guise. But then, you could probably learn just as much by reading her Wikipedia page.
One More Small Point: why this book title begins with "Scourge of Henry VIII" I have no idea. The fact that Henry at one time considered marrying Marie is a minuscule part of her story.