For centuries, Mary, Queen of Scots has been a figure of scholarly debate. Where many have portrayed her as the weak woman to Elizabeth’s rational leader, John Guy reassesses the young queen, finding her far more politically shrewd than previously believed.
Crowned Queen of Scotland at nine months old, Queen of France by age sixteen and widowed the following year, Guy paints Mary as a commanding and savvy queen who navigated the European power struggles of the time to her advantage.
Her life was one of drama and conflict – Scottish lords constructed labyrinthine plots to wrest power from her and attempts to prove her claim to the English throne were thwarted by English ministers bent on protecting Elizabeth.
My Heart is My Own re-examines the original sources, resulting in a riveting new argument surrounding Mary’s involvement in her husband Lord Darnely’s murder and her subsequent marriage to his suspected assassin.
Guy’s accessible treatment of the well-trodden story, his deft storytelling and insightful new arguments provide compelling and dramatic reading.
‘An absorbing biography … meticulously researched … scholarly and intriguing’ Peter Ackroyd, The Times
‘Rarely have first-class scholarship and first-class storytelling been so effectively combined’ John Adamson, Daily Telegraph
Penguin Ebook only