Mary Queen of Scots

Film Tie-In

By: John Guy

Narrated by: Jan Cramer

Length: 22 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's Summary

Now a major film, this is a dramatic reinterpretation of the life of Mary Queen of Scots by one of the leading historians of this period.

Who was the real Mary Queen of Scots? The most enigmatic ruler of England lived a life of incredible drama and turmoil: crowned Queen of Scotland at nine months old, and Queen of France at 16 years, she grew up in the crosshairs of Europe's political battles to become Queen Elizabeth's archrival.

This audiobook tells the story of the fraught and dangerous relationship between these two women of incredible charisma and power - a relationship that began with both seeking a political settlement but which led them down a path of danger, from which only one could emerge victorious.

Previously published as My Heart Is My Own.

©2019 John Guy (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic Reviews

"A biography that reads as thrillingly as a detective story." (Miranda Seymour, Sunday Times)

"A masterpiece, full of fire and tragedy." (Amanda Foreman)

"Rarely have first-class scholarship and first-class storytelling been so effectively combined." (John Adamson, Daily Telegraph)

Absolutely brilliant book.

This is a well written and fascinating biography of a Queen who fought for what she believed in and ultimately paid the price. I am not sure if I want to see the film now in case it spoils the book ! Jan Kramer is also excellent as the narrator, her intonation is perfect and she really does the book credit.

A Poor Performance

I am struggling to finish this book. Nothing wrong with the writing but the history is spoiled by a reader who appears to think she’s reading a trashy rom-com. I feel cheated. I have wasted a credit I could have to much better purpose.

wonderfully accurate

incredibly engaging telling tale of Mary and her life. every detail has such high accuracy. I really loved this book.

very well read and kept interested and enthralled

really enjoyed this , made me look at the queen of Scott's as a victim of circumstance trying to control her own life .

Interesting View 🌟🌟🌟

An interesting view of the life of Mary Queen of Scots that gives us a real insight in to the life and times of the most famous Catholic Queen in British History.

The performance unfortunately is not the most entertaining and at times very monotone - if you battle through then it is worth listening to but the narrator leaves a lot to be desired

Mary, Queen of Scots by John Guy. Reviewer, Jane Starfield

It is wonderful to have access to the work of the acclaimed historian, John Guy. His research is impressive. Very different from the fictional accounts by the many aficionados of A Queen who may have been beautiful, but was also ruthless.
Jan Kramer’s performance is engaging; however, some Scots and French names require more practice.

Narrator made it difficult to enjoy

Maybe this is down to personal preference, but the narrator ruined this audiobook for me. The exploration of the history was detailed, in depth, used primary sources... all the good stuff. But the narrator read EVERYTHING like she was telling a salacious story of saucy gossip. Wore thin very quickly. I suggest listening to the download sample and deciding if you can cope with 20 hours of same, fixed tone of voice.

Mispronunciation of Scottish names and place names

John Guy is very kind to Mary. It’s a very biased view, but as a film tour in it reflects the view shown there .
Scottish place names constantly mispronounced. It’s Moray pronounced Murray. Kirkintilloch gets mangled too. I found myself growling at the reader. But it does give an overview of the story.

I never

knew much about Mary and am so glad I read this book, I really feel sorry for her, she never had much chance against those treacherous Scottish lords and well, I'll say nothin' about English nobility.

Rubbish

Loved the film the book is like having a very dusty old school teacher read from a text book 🙁