The Betrayal of Mary, Queen of Scots: Elizabeth I and Her Greatest Rival Hardcover – Illustrated, 13 Nov. 2018

A present

The book was the best history book I have read

Good quality

This was a very well researched and well written book. I very much enjoyed it and found it enlightening.

Printed on poor quality paper

Great book. Thank you

AWESOME book. Well written and very informative, though a tragic retelling of the Mary Queen of Scots life from the perspective of her relationship to Elizabeth, the Tudor, French and Scots courts and her ultimate betrayal by those closest to her. This is a woman who lost everyone dear to her in life either through death, exile or betrayal. Having seen her tomb at Westminster Abbey this Fall, I found this book especially poignant and fitting for the season. The story is compelling and gives a well-rounded portrayal of the events leading up to the execution of Mary. Politics and power abuse at play finding a scapegoat in Mary and forever shaking the foundations of the notion of the divine right of kings if you can hold a sovereign accountable to a kangaroo court lacking solid witness testimony and evidence to warrant the death sentence and ending in regicide. Very interesting to learn a little more about the English and Scottish politics, spymasters and intrigue surrounding his time in history.

I loved this book and have read it twice. I loved the research, notes and the structure the author uses.I differ from the author who seems to feel Elizabeth seriously offered Robert Dudley to Mary for marriage. He was no noble or aristocrat, but Elizabeth loved him until he died.Angry and humiliated by the offer, Mary was ripe for romance with Lord Darnley whom Elizabeth allowed to go to Scotland to his family estate. Tall and handsome, Mary was instantly smitten. What she didn't know, but Elizabeth knew, was that under the thin veneer of gentility Darnley was a drunk who got meaner with each drink. He was also a reputed bisexual and doctors suspected he had syphilis.Mary's marriage did not sit well with her nobles and Darnley was dead in a year by an explosion at Kirk o Field. Mary's reign was over within another year and her country was in turmoil in part by her refusal to look for the murderers.I believe Elizabeth knew exactly how to play Mary and had absolutely no intention of letting "her Robbie" go anywhere. Nonetheless. the offer set Mary up to fall for the first "suitable" man and destabilize her reign.

I’m a fan of the Tudor period and have found this book to be delightful so far. A good mix of the familiar and the new. Well researched and beautifully written!

A very sympathetic look at Mary- especially at her sexual history and weather or not she was coerced into sex/marriage, which totally changed my understanding of her. A very good read.

This was a stunning presentation of Mary Queen of Scott's and Elizabeth. It was well researched, written and presented.....about a fascinating but tragic figure and true Queen ...Mary...and her rival. How could Elizabeth live with herself for 19 yrs with her caged cousin? How could Mary endure that long of a prison..however luxurious her external signs of court life but without real freedom? I would not blame her for her final attempt at true freedom. Bravo for a page turner!!!!