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| | From: terrilee62 (Original Message) | Sent: 3/29/2003 3:12 AM |
I just found out about a new book by Alison Weir about MQOS. It's called "Mary Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley". Yesterday was my birthday,and after eating out with the kids, we browsed my favorite bookstore ~ I had heard about this book but didn't know when it would hit the stores. It's due out April 1st. I told my hubby that one of my favorite authors had a new book and he guessed "Alison Weir" on the first try!! Pretty amazing considering how many books I have all over the house! I'll cut & paste the book description:The acclaimed author of The Princes in the Tower now brilliantly investigates another of Britain’s notorious unsolved mysteries: the murder of Lord Darnley, second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Tall, handsome, accomplished, and charming, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, had it all, including a strong claim to the English throne, a fact that threatened the already insecure Elizabeth I. She therefore opposed any plan for Darnley to marry her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, who herself claimed to be Queen of England. But in 1565 Mary met and fell in love with Darnley—and defied Elizabeth by marrying him. It was not long before she discovered that her new husband was weak and vicious, and interested only in securing sovereign power for himself.
On February 10, 1567, an explosion at his lodgings left Darnley dead. There were many who might have had a motive for murdering him, not least Mary herself. The intrigue thickened after it was discovered that apparently he had been suffocated before the blast. Emerging from the tragedy were more mysteries than any historian has ever satisfactorily solved.
Mary and Darnley’s marriage had been an adulterous disaster. After Darnley’s death, Mary showed favor to the powerful Earl of Bothwell, causing her enemies to accuse her of being his partner in both infidelity and murder. Mary insisted that the murder conspiracy had been aimed at her, and that she had escaped only by changing her plans at the last minute. It has even been suggested that Darnley himself had planned the explosion in order to kill her.
The murder of Darnley ultimately led to Mary’s ruin. After her deposition, there conveniently came to light a box of documents—the notorious Casket Letters—that her enemies claimed were proof of her guilt. But Mary was never allowed to see them, and they disappeared in 1584. The question of their authenticity has haunted historians ever since.
After exhaustive reexamination and reevaluation of the source material, Alison Weir has come up with a solution to this enduring mystery that can be substantiated by contemporary evidence, and in the process has shattered many of the misconceptions about Mary, Queen of Scots. Employing once more the bright writing and stunning characterizations that have made her a favorite writer of popular history, Weir has written one of her most engaging excursions into Britain’s bloodstained, power-obsessed past. Even tho I've read it all before, it excites me to think of reading a new book by Weir, written in her usual excellent style. I'll let you all know what it's like as soon as I get it! terrilee
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OOOOPSSS!!! Hope it was OK with the list owners that I put that link in my previous post. I was not advocating buying the book at Amazon or any other site. I just like looking there to read all the different reviews of products that I'm thinking about buying. Again, if that was out of line, my apologies!! terrilee |
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No problem, Terrilee.....we love to hear about the newest books! Alison Weir is a favorite of mine as well, though many dismiss her as being too opinionated (& I must admit, she is none too kind to either Richard III or Anne Boleyn!). But she has such a flowing, easy-to-read writing style that it's hard to put her down. I think my favorite book by her would have to be The Wars of the Roses (which I think goes by a different title UK?). Anyhow, Amazon's blurb's slightly off; the explosion at Kirk O'Fields didn't kill Darnley, though it was probably supposed to. At the last minute he was alerted & made it out onto the grounds with a manservant before the house blew up. It was the presence of their strangled bodies in the garden that kinda pushed the investigation towards murder most royal ROFL |
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Greensleeves, I must agree...I have a hard time reading her book about Anne Bolyen because it directly opposes what I think about her. Ditto "The Princes in the Tower", which clearly shows her anti-Ricardian bias. If you'll check the reviews at the Amazon site, one in particular cracked me up...it says something to the effect that one of Darnley's murderers turns out, "shockingly", to be Bothwell, Mary's next husband. I guess if you have no knowledge of MQOS, that would be a shock, but ...... terrilee |
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| | From: jkcelt | Sent: 5/28/2003 4:14 AM |
I've never read Weir and have read others that mention her bias, so I'm a little hesitant. I just picked up a copy of The Children of Henry VIII (The Children of England) and am going to give it a try. Has anyone read that one? MQOS is "quite a character" and if Weir is easy to read, I will definitely have to check this one out, too. |
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Every historian has their own point of view on things, & as long as you can keep that in mind when you read & don't take any one person's writings as the gospel truth but sift thru a lot of things before making up your mind about a subject, it doesn't matter what you read. Weir does have a lovely fluid style & sucks you right into the period despite the fact that she is a fan of neither Anne Boleyn or Richard III. I have all of her books. A really good one is The Court of King Henry VIII, which is fascinating as it takes you behind the scenes into avenues in which many historians never dwell, getting into the specifics of what made the court run, foodstuffs, clothing, accommodations, entertainment, looking at Henry's reign from a social & cultural view rather than the usual political take. |
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| | From: ChArLiE | Sent: 5/28/2003 7:13 AM |
Hey, i know this really good book, most likely some of you have read it...its called 'The other boleyn girl' Anyone heard of it? I think its fantastic!
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Charlie, There are several threads about Mary Boleyn as well as a discussion about that book! Get out of your email and come on over to the actual "clubhouse"! There is sooooo much here at the site, including (but not limited to) our famous (infamous?) TDIH page! Forever Amber changes this on a daily basis with what has happen in history for that day (hense, the title...This Day In History...duh ) and her graphics work for it (as well as this whole site) is outstanding! |
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| | From: ChArLiE | Sent: 5/29/2003 3:12 PM |
hey, umm yeah i really have no idea where to go. it keeps saying that i'm not a member :S :S HELP
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Charlie, you have to make sure you are either signed into the email account you joined AMT with, or go directly to the MSN Groups Home page & sign in there, before you do a post; that will clear up that you aren't a member nonsense. |
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LOL! I've seen this book on Amazon, and keep thinking "I want.... I want"! Alison does have some bias, but then again, it does kind of help show a different aspect of the person's character. I love her style! Her book on the wives of Henry VIII really gave me a kick into this obsession! She and Lady Antonia Fraser are my favorite writers of this time period. Anything by them is great reading. I'm more concerned with accuracy than bias... there's one book I want on Anne of Cleves, but in the reviews, I've read of so many small blurbs that I just can't buy it! I'd rather read a book about someone who dispised her than someone who can't tell her story correctly! |
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