Ebook: Queen of Scots: the true life of Mary Stuart

The first year -- Rough wooings -- Arrival in France -- Adolescence -- Education -- Dynastic marriage -- Betrayed queen -- Return to Scotland -- Into the labyrinth -- Meeting between sisters -- Search for a husband -- "My heart is my own" -- Marriage of convenience -- Enter Bothwell -- Marriage in trouble -- Assassination one -- Reconciliation -- Plot and counterplot -- Assassination two -- Love match? -- Dénouement in Scotland -- Mary's story -- Bothwell's story -- The Lords' story -- Casket letters I -- Casket letters II -- Captive queen -- Ax or an act? -- Nemesis -- Final hours.;[In this volume, the author] has unearthed a wealth of evidence that upends the popular notion of Mary Queen of Scots as a femme fatale and establishes her as the intellectual and political equal of Elizabeth I. [He] draws on sources as varied as the secret communique's of English spies and Mary"s own letters (many hitherto unstudied) to depict her world and her actions with stunning immediacy. Here is a myth-shattering reappraisal of her multifaceted character and prodigious political skill. [He] dispels the persistent popular image of Mary as a romantic leading lady, achieving her ends through feminine wiles, driven by love to murder, undone by passion and poor judgment. Through his pioneering research, we come to see her as an emotionally intricate woman and an adroit diplomat, maneuvering ingeniously among a dizzying array of powerful factions - the French, the English, duplicitous Scottish nobles, and religious zealots - who sought to control or dethrone her. [The author's] investigation of Mary"s storied demise throws sharp new light on questions that have baffled historians for centuries, including whether or not Mary was framed for the murder she lost her throne over.-Dust jacket.