Mary, Queen of Scots: Queen Without a Country, France 1553 (The Royal Diaries) - Hardcover

Lasky, Kathryn

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0439194040 ISBN 13: 9780439194044

Publisher: Scholastic Inc., 2002

Synopsis

Readers take a step back in time to 16th-century France in this year-long diary of adolescent Mary, Queen of Scots, who has fled from homeland to the Court of her betrothed in France.

Mary is only nine months old when she is crowned Queen of Scotland succeeding her father King James V. Because of political conflicts, she is forced to be separated from her mother and her country from the age of five. For the benefit of forging an alliance with France, the youngster is betrothed to Francis, the son of King Henry ll of France and his wife, the vicious and jealous Queen Catherine de Medici. Mary is sent to France to live in their care until she is old enough for the marriage to take place. It is at their home, the beautiful Chateau St. Germaine, that we first meet the irresistibly charming Mary at 11 years old. Keenly intelligent, she excels academically, and shows a talent for dance, music and poetry. She's an expert horsewoman, skilled at archery and hawking.

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Reviews

Grade 4-8-Mary was only nine months old when she was crowned Queen of Scotland, succeeding her father, King James V. Because of the many political conflicts, she was separated from her mother and her country at the age of five. To forge an alliance with France, she was betrothed to Francis, the son of King Henry II of France and Queen Catherine de Medici. Mary was promptly sent to live in their care until she was old enough for the marriage to take place. That is where this story begins, as she chronicles her life throughout a one-year period. Life in France is filled with dances, playing with her future husband, and hawking, which is Mary's favorite pastime. However, the girl's life is made very difficult by the jealous queen. She finds comfort though in Henry's mistress Diane de Poitier, who is very much the lady and gives Mary strength and inspiration throughout the good and bad times. As with the other titles in the series, this diary is packed with facts that will give readers a wonderful opportunity to learn about a unique heroine from history. A historical note, epilogue, reproductions, and a family tree provide just enough additional information to whet the appetites of readers who may want to continue to explore the background of this ill-fated queen.
Janet Gillen, Great Neck Public Library, NY
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 5-8. In this fictional journal in the Royal Diary series, Lasky focuses on a relatively stable period in the young queen's life--her time in France, betrothed to the Dauphin Francis. As in her previous titles about queens in the series--Elizabeth 1 (1999) and Marie Antoinette (2000)--here Lasky creates a voice that's both accessible and believable, deftly incorporating historical detail and the intricacies of court life and behavior while showing the teenage queen as a compelling, independent character who still fights with her friends, yearns for her mother, and experiments with outfits and makeup, with some near-disastrous results. A useful historical note helps separate fact from fiction, and, as in others in the series, a family tree and handsome portraits round out the back matter. A lively, well-written novel for both personal reading and curricular use. Suggest Jane Yolen and Robert Harris' Queen's Own Fool (2000) to readers who want more about Mary. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0439194040
• ISBN 13: 9780439194044
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208