Mary, Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley

Name: Mary, Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley
Rating: 4.4 (557 reviews)

by Alison Weir

First published 2003

Amazon

4.4(557)

This historical investigation centres on the 1567 murder of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, whose body was found after an explosion at Kirk o’ Field. Weir reconstructs Mary, Queen of Scots’ troubled marriage, the Scottish factional struggle and the conduct of Bothwell and other suspected conspirators. By testing confessions, letters and later testimony, the book reassesses Mary’s knowledge and the political use made of the crime.

The murder cannot be separated from the crisis of Mary’s reign. Darnley’s claim to status, Bothwell’s ambitions and the hostility of Scottish nobles all affected how evidence was created and interpreted. The investigation therefore becomes a study of political credibility: whether surviving documents reveal Mary’s guilt, her knowledge after the fact or the efforts of rivals to make one interpretation prevail.