The Tower by Flora Carr
First line: From far away, she looks like a roosting bird.
Summary: It’s 1567 and a pregnant Mary, Queen of Scots in taken from her palace and imprisoned in the tower of Lochleven Castle. Her captors want her dead but will settle for her abdication. Upon her agreement to the abdication she is allowed the company of her trusted friend, Lady Seton. As the two women along with their serving women, they hatch a plan to escape from the clutches of the Scottish nobles. With their combined love for the exiled queen the women push aside differences in class to work together on their shared goal of survival and escape.
My Thoughts: Over the years I have read several books about Mary, Queen of Scots, many dealing either with her time in France, early time in Scotland and her life as a prisoner of Elizabeth I. However, this is a history I knew very little about. Mary is brought here by the lords of Scotland, as a prisoner and pregnant with twins. While isolated in the tower she miscarries as well as abdicating her throne. This is a major turning point in English and Scottish history.
Through all the stories of Mary I have read, I find it hard to decide how I feel about her. She made many mistakes but was also forced by the men around her into some of these decisions. This gave me a little more insight into why she made these choices. As a prisoner she was kept away from her young son, poorly tended during her pregnancy and stripped of her inheritance. I cannot even imagine how depressed and alone she felt at the time. It is easy to see why she decided that abdicating was her only choice. She also had hope that her cousin, Elizabeth I, would help her regain her throne. As we know this wouldn’t happen but it seems likely at the time Mary was shut away.
This story is fairly short but it breaks down the year that Mary and her attendants spent in the tower at Lochleven. They devised a plan to escape which leads to the mad dash to England. I liked learning a bit more about this piece that brings together the other more well-known parts of her history. To end Women’s History Month I would recommend learning more about this tragic queen and the women who protected her in her dark days in the tower.
Being able to work around books is a dream! I read anything but my favorite genres are historical fiction and YA. Give me anything set in Tudor England or teenage fantasy novel and I am set.
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