Monday, January 05, 2004
And finally. Yes, I did actually finish Mary, Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley. I honestly don't know why it took me so long. I think I just hit a block after the murder because the last 300 pages went very quickly. I am pretty convinced that the murder was a conspiracy and that Mary was smeared in a strategic campaign and offered up as a scapegoat when Bothwell became unavailable. Compared to Elizabeth, anyone would come off as a political amateur, but Mary seems to have been especially out of her league as a monarch. She consistently relied on stronger men around her to guide and shape her policies and was often naive or plain stupid. Weir picks apart inconsistencies in the historical evidence of her guilt and provides pretty compelling motives for the conspiracy of nobles she believes was responsible. I haven't read anything else of substance about Mary, so I don't know what the prevailing opinion is, but, while Mary was clearly guilty of plotting against Elizabeth, I don't believe she offed her husband.
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