The Queen's Caprice by Marjorie Bowen: A Book Review

The Queen’s Caprice
Author: Marjorie Bowen
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Endeavour Press
Release Date: 2015
Pages: 288
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: There have been few more controversial figures in British history than Mary Queen of Scots.

In this thrilling novel she is bought vividly back to life.

She is a woman shrouded in secrecy and surrounded by violence who has learnt to use her desirability to intoxicate her subjects into carrying out her will.

Yet despite this natural authority she cannot escape the domineering men who not only sway the court but the opinion of the people.

Lord Moray, her bastard half-brother, adores her more than his familial position should allow and vows not to let her into another man’s clutches.

Which compels her to marry the handsome but naïve Henry Stewart in act of rebellion.
But her husband’s disappointing nature drives her into the arms of the shrewd Italian servant David Rizzio.

And as acts of murder and treachery unfold, the Earl of Bothwell hovers as a tantalising presence on the outskirts, capturing the queen’s capricious attention.

‘The Queen’s Caprice’ is an enthralling historical romance set during the reign of one of Scotland’s most captivating monarchs.

My Review: The Queen’s Caprice tells of Mary, Queen of Scots, rule in Scotland. She is beautiful and loved by the men around her. However, with her marriage to Henry Stuart and favoring an Italian dwarf named David, she loses the nobles’ favor and treachery and danger abounds. Mary must fight to keep control of Scotland as the nobles try to take away her power.

Mary is a tragic figure. She is a weak ruler. She chooses the wrong men, who want nothing but to have Scotland for themselves. She is easily influenced by her ambitious brother James Moray, who wants control. She has a turbulent marriage with Henry Stuart, who she is infatuated with and eventually shows his true colors as a jealous, ambitious, spoiled brat that doesn’t love her but wants her throne. She is also lonely, which is why she turns her attention and favours the Italian dwarf, because he is smart and humors her. When she finds that trouble is admist, and powerless, she fights to keep her right to the throne. Still she does not succeed.

Overall, this is a fascinating story about the tragic events of Queen Mary’s rule in Scotland. While Queen Mary is not likeable, I still found her story interesting. She strives to find love and happiness but sadly does not find it. Yet this story is filled with political intrigue, drama, treachery, and betrayal. This book reads like a soap opera, and is filled with fast-paced action. The Queen’s Caprice will appeal to anyone interested in Mary, Queen of Scots, The Elizabethan Era, and The Tudors. It will also appeal to fans of Margaret George, Jean Plaidy, and Philippa Gregory.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer by Samuel Noah Kramer and Diane Wolkstein: A Book Review

Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer Author: Samuel Noah Kramer and Diane Wolkstein Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Religion, Mythology Publisher: Harper Perennial Release Date: 1983 Pages: 256 Source: Personal Collection Synopsis: With the long-awaited publication of this book, we have for the first time in any modern literary form one of the most vital and important of ancient myths—that of Inanna, the world’s first goddess of recorded history and the beloved deity of the ancient Sumerians. The stories and hymns of Inanna (known to the Semites as Ishtar) are inscribed on clay tablets which date back to 2,000 B.C. Over the past forty years, these cuneiform tablets have gradually been restored and deciphered by a small group of international scholars. In this groundbreaking book, Samuel Noah Kramer, the preeminent living expert on Sumer, and Diane Wolkstein, a gifted storyteller and folklorist, have retranslated, order...

Guest Post: The Ladies-in-Waiting: Lady Isabel Baynton by Alexandra Walsh

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History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

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