One of the most famous queens in history, Mary Stuart lived in her homeland for just twelve years: as a dauntless child who laughed at her friends' seasickness as they sailed to safety in France and later, on her return as a 18-year-old widow to take control of a nation riven with factions, dissent and religious strife. Brief though her time in Scotland was, her experience profoundly in uenced who she was and what happened to her.

In this book, Rosemary Goring tells the story of Mary's Scottish years through the often dramatic and atmospheric locations and settings where the events that shaped her life took place and also examines the part Scotland, and its tumultuous court and culture, played in her downfall. Whether or not Mary Stuart emerges blameless or guilty, in this evocative retelling she can be seen for who she really was.

Rosemary Goring worked for the publisher W&R Chambers as a reference editor before becoming literary editor of Scotland on Sunday. She is currently literary editor and columnist for The Herald and Sunday Herald. She is also the author of two historical novels, After Flodden and Dacre's War, and the editor of the bestselling Scotland: The Autobiography, which was published to great acclaim in 2007.