Mary Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser

[blackdaisies]

i'm reading a book called "mary queen of scots" by antonia fraser and i wanted to know if anyone here has read the book? it is from back in queen elizabeth l days or the golden age. so far, it is a really good book. antonia fraser is supposed to be a relative to the royal family, but i don't know how close. her book was written in 1969 and the book is a really old paperback that someone gave me.

i was really surprised by how the french court was so unlucky. i'm only at the marriage between the king of spain, philipe, who was widowed by queen elizabeth's sister, mary tudor. mary tudor died and philipe marries a 12 year old girl who is mary queen of scot's sister in law named elizabeth.

i'm surprised at the french influence in scotland. i wonder if there are areas in scotland still that represent the french. in the u.s.a. we have many cities named after the french, but their culture is not well known except in louisiana in the creole areas. they speak french still just like quebec canada does.

i love queen elizabeth l, so when i found this book i knew queen elizabeth had her executed for a marriage she had intended with norfolk to overtake the english throne. many people hate queen elizabeth for this still and try to have all that she has done removed or changed to represent life as if she were never queen. this is a very popular opinion by many royal followers, but i still think elizabeth 1, was much better suited for her position.

if anyone has read the book or can suggest other books, especially on norfolk or sir dudley. sir dudley was queen elizabeth's boyfriend for a long time before she left him for being married and being a cheat. sir dudley's wife was found dead and i wonder if there were any books out on that subject.

well, if anyone knows please reply

[blackdaisies]

i wanted to add a few things more about the differences of real life to the movie "elizabeth".

she never had an affair with sir dudley, but the had begun to have a relationship until his wife died. he had too many people who hated him already and he was then ruined by the rumor of killing his wife. his wife had some kind of cancer and her bones were very brittle, so she more than likey died from those complications instead of someone killing her. the still say he is not guilty after all these centuries, so it must be the truth.

norfolk was not a villainous character like the movie. he was rumored to have been having an affair with queen mary tudor, but no one bothered to prove it or not. he also fought over queen elizabeth with sir dudley, so its true he at one time wanted to marry her.

sir walsingham is still considered a great man and there was a book written about him in 2005. he is still praised for his investigative methods and conspiracy investigations and is considered a "father" to those now working in those fields for all he has added.

the duke of anjou was someone whom she really wanted to marry, but he was not very bright. he and 1500 other soldiers attacked another country even though they were just out scouting and only 4 of them left the place alive. he died a year after that of a disease of some kind, but elizabeth ended their 3 month engagement after his attack.

mary queen of scots seems to me to be a spoiled character. i don't see her leading any country other than making her husband do it. she was next in line to the english throne when elizabeth was taken off the roster when the church decided since they didn't approve of henry Vlll prior divorce, anne bolyn's child was a bastard. anne and henry Vlll were legitimately married and there was no other reason to call elizabeth a bastard. henry Vlll fixed her by making a rule that no foreigner can rule england, and mary queen of scots was half french and was raised on french ground since she was a very small girl of 5. she never lead scotland, only her husband the queen of france did. and she was the queen of scotland by birthright already, the queen of france by her husband, and she wanted to also be queen of england.

she obsessed over being removed from being the next heir until she finally got herself executed for it. i think she was very greedy and should have left it alone, but i'm not done with the book yet. she never set foot in scotland until her husband dies young, and then she returns trying to marry into spanish royalty now. i don't think she is capable of anything but marriages and i think elizabeth was more suited to the throne, but many defend mary queen of scots still to this day and try to remove everything about queen elizabeth still in existance.

queen elizabet was still a virgin in real life. she was never allowed to sleep alone like all royals, so there were enough eye witnesses to prove this. there were only lettersdiscussing rumors, and there were so many snitches around her, she could have never had sex without them knowing.