August 1 2020

Fatal Majesty: The Drama of Mary Queen of Scots (1998)

By Reay Tannahill

This lengthy (618 pp) well-researched story traces the life of Mary Queen of Scots from her arrival in Edinburgh in 1561 (at age 18) to her death in 1587, but concentrates on her years in Scotland, which ended in 1568, with her arrest          in England.  Many is the only legitimate child of King James V, and was betrothed as a child to Francois the French Dauphine.  Raised in France, she marries Francois, only to lose him 6 months later to an early death at age 16.  When Mary's mother (acting as regent) dies in Scotland, Mary returns to claim her throne, and it is at this point that the story opens.

Initially welcomed by enthusiastic subjects, Mary alienated may by her practice of her Catholic faith.  sensing she must marry again, and produce an hear, she opts for someone to whom she is physically attracted (Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, several years her junior) rather a political alliance or a man with wisdom nd connections.  the marriage is a disaster, with Henry drinking and chasing after other women - although the union does produce an hear.  Mary's advisers can see Darnley is a problem - he keeps insisting Mary make him the king matrimonial (giving him the right to rule equally with her or - in the case of her early death - to rule in her place) but Mary is wise enough to resist.  One advisor in particular (Earl of Bothwell) wants Darnley out of the ay, and orchestrates Darnley's murder, annuls his own marriage, and convinces Mary to marry him.  But Bothwell does not last long, either, implicated in Darnley's murder and causing speculation that Mary was a party to the  murder of her 2nd husband, an assertion which this author's research does not support.

Other figures are at work against Mary, including the pious Kohn Knox and Mary's own half-brother, James Stewart - eventually they will form a plot to implicate Mary against her cousin Elizabeth I of England, where she has recently sought protection (in 1568).  While her young son is king with the aid of a succession of regents, Mary languishes in various remote English castles under house arrest, until her execution in 1587.  While the charges were trumped up, Mary was a tragic figure, an unwise ruler who rarely chose to follow the best advice.

Although the book is a novel, the author is faithful to the historical record, creating dialogue but not actual persons or events.  We meet Mary's closest friends, her "four Maries" who have served as her ladies in waiting since their childhoods, and her faithful secretary of state, William Maitland, Lord Lethington, who marries "Marie" Fleming.  Mary's most important contribution was producing an heir, James VI, who would becomes James I of England, following the last Tudor monarch Elizabeth I and uniting the two countries.

The author paints a picture of an uncivilized, almost medieval Scotland, lacking in culture and amenities - a far cry from Mary's beloved France - and that Mary was a fish out of water, suffering several personal losses and unprepared for the realities of a wild and unfamiliar country.  Though I knew how the sage would end, the story was nevertheless fascinating, tragic, and perhaps not so far-fetched.