Mary Queen of Scots (50th Anniversary Edition)

More than 400 years after her death, Mary Queen of Scots remains one of the most romantic and controversial figures in British history. Fraser's classic biography of her won the James Tait Prize when it was first published in 1969, became an international bestseller and was translated into 9 languages.

Mary passed her childhood in Franceand married the Dauphin to become Queen of France at 16. Widowed less than two years later, she returned to Scotland as Queen after a 13 year absence. Her life then entered its best known phase: early struggles with John Knox and the Scottish nobility; marriage to Darnley and his mysterious death; marriage to Bothwell, the chief suspect, that led directly to her captivity at the hands of Queen Elizabeth; her long imprisonment that ended with the labyrinthine Babington plot to free her and her execution at age 44.

Fraser's biography, four years in the writing, enters fully into the life of an historical figure who continues to capture the popular imagination,and provides an answer to the question, `What was Mary Queen of Scots really like?'