9 September 1543: Mary Stuart crowned Queen of the Scots
When Shakespeare penned the line, “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” he was referring to the subject of his play, King Henry IV of England. The line, however, both in its intended metaphorical and its literal sense, could not hold more true for today’s subject, Mary Stuart, who at the spritely age of just nine months was crowned Queen of the Scots on this day, 9 September, in 1543, and whose death was foretold almost from her birth.
Mary was a woman caught, as so many royal women of her time were, between various forces. Wanting to forge an alliance between the two kingdoms, England's Henry VIII tried to force upon the Scots a marriage between his own ill-fated only son and six-year-old Mary -- Henry went to war to attempt to bring the marriage about, a conflict that became known as the "Rough Wooing." Sounds terribly romantic, no? In typical Scottish fashion, Mary was bundled off to the royal court in France and married to the dauphin. Because what better way to stick it to your archenemy than to snatch away his prize and hand her off to his even bigger enemy? When Mary was eighteen, the dauphin died from an ear infection. Yes, an ear infection. Thank you, Alexander Fleming, pass the penicillin, please!
Returning to Scotland, Mary, who was so nearly queen of France, wanted more than the throne of the Scots and made no secret of her belief that her claim to the throne of England was stronger than that of Elizabeth. Her life, which had been idylic and indulgent, soon became a quicksand of cunning and opposition. Despite a keen intellect and solid education, possessed of a vibrant and entitled personality, Mary was unable to steer the ship of her own life and had spectacularly deficient judgement when it came to choosing allies. She also made extremely impetuous choices, particularly when it came to romantic entanglements. These two factors made her a pawn and led her to seek assistance from the most ill-advised of quarters, eventually leading to her death.
The seemingly mature rating of her life aside, there are many great books out there for younger students that simply focus on the age appropriate aspects – or flat out romanticize her behavior (don’t blame the authors; plenty of academics do it, too).
Mary, Queen of Scots: Escape from Lochleven Castle
By: Theresa Breslin
Series: Traditional Scottish Tales
Pages: 32
Publisher: Kelpie
For: lower Grammar (around 1st and 2nd grade)
As someone of Scottish heritage, I wish this wonderful series had been around when my children were young. Some books in the series, like this one, portray factual incidents from lives of historical Scottish figures. Others illustrate popular Scottish legends. This book touches on one of Mary’s final escapades in Scotland before her ill-fated decision to seek refuge in England under the protection of her cousin once removed, Queen Elizabeth I. Margaret Tudor was Mary’s paternal grandmother; Margaret was the older sister of England’s King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth I’s father. The escape itself is quite exciting, with all the machinations one might expect of such an endeavor – and none of the foreshadowing of the tragedy to come to keep everything appropriate for the younger set.
Mary, Queen of Scots
By: Fiona MacDonald
Series: Kids in History
Pages: 152
Publisher: Stirling Publishing
For: upper Grammar (around 3rd and 4th grade)
This book is the perfect place to pick up when your student is ready for more than what the previous book has to offer. It goes into a number of weighty subjects that are foreign to modern children, but they are explained in such simple language as to make the concepts easily accessible. Ideas such as why royals were married off as children and the conflicts between Catholics and Protestants in Europe at the time are covered without pulling down the narrative.
Mary, Queen of Scots and All That
By: Allan Burnett
Series: The And All That Series
Pages: 112
Publisher: BC Books
For: Dialectic (4th through 8th)
This rather irreverent book meets students right where their sense of humor is at this age. While it tackles the tougher issues, the manner in which it does so keeps the book from becoming too dark. Some might find its tone a tad too flippant, but if you have students who find history boring or are just in a funk or going through a phase (as, goodness knows, kiddos this age are prone to do!) histories such as this one about a figure as engaging as that of Mary, Queen of Scots are sure to get them fired up about everything the past has to whisper in their ears. I have read a few in this series; I learn new things and laugh every time.
The Wild Queen: The Days and Nights of Mary, Queen of Scots
By: Carolyn Meyer
Series: Young Royals
Pages: 432
Publisher: Clarion
For: Rhetoric (9th through 12th) and adult
I am not a fan of either the vampy cover photo nor the “nights” subtitle of this historical fiction work because I feel that they are very misleading. Don’t get me wrong. In my opinion, the publisher’s suggestion of 7th grade as an appropriate starting age for reading this book is a couple years too young. However, neither is it a steamy YA novel that focuses on Mary’s ill-thought-out romantic escapades at the expense of her genuine role in history. The writing style is certainly within the grasp of many 7th graders; I do not think the subject matter of this one is glossed over quite enough to fit that age. My daughters loved Carolyn Meyer’s Young Royals series and read a fair number of them. They are solid histories with well-written plots about some of history’s most fascinating women. If you are an adult who likes your historical fiction cleaner than many adult authors write, you would also likely enjoy Meyer’s books.
Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles: A Novel
By: Margaret George
Pages: 870
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
For: very interested Rhetoric students and adults
For students (or adults) with an avid interest in Mary, Queen of Scots, there is not a novel that I can recommend more highly than this one. Yes, it is a chunkster. But, let’s be honest here, between having that crown perched on her wee, bonny head and losing it at the agonized behest of her cousin, Mary crammed in a whole lot of living. In the quarter century since this novel was released, no other has even come close in terms of the propulsive plot and historical accuracy that Margaret George achieved.
Mary Queen of Scots
By: Antonia Fraser
Pages: 640
Publisher: Delta
For: very interested Rhetoric students and adults
Another oldie-but-goodie – this one is almost thirty years old – that nobody has out-researched nor out-written. This nonfiction gem is the perfect companion book for anyone wanting to do a historical fiction/nonfiction tandem read alongside Margaret George’s novel. Although Antonia Fraser’s writing has smoothed out some over the years, her chops were still very much present during the crafting of this work. If you enjoy this one, I highly encourage you to further explore her long list of both nonfiction and historical fiction (although the latter does, she admits herself in endnotes, tend to get a bit speculative).
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