By Carolyn Meyer
Harcourt Children’s Books, $16.99, 420 pages
The Wild Queen tells the story of Mary Stuart, the Queen of Scotland. Mary, crowned queen shortly after her birth, is sent to France at a young age, to grow up with her betrothed, Francois, dauphin to the French throne. While her mother sits as Reagent for the young queen, Mary grows up in to a refined French woman accustomed to the posh lifestyle of French royalty. When a tragic accident takes the life of King Henri, young Francois assumes the throne, and shortly after marries his Marie. However, Francois continually struggles with his health and dies months after the wedding. Because the marriage was never physically consummated and no heir was born, Mary quickly becomes unwelcomed in the French court. Mary decides to return to Scotland to take her rightful place as queen. The long journey is fraught with perils.
Carolyn Meyer’s The Wild Queen is another extremely readable book in her series of books about the Royal families. The book is filled with day-to-day details and Mary’s internal dialogues that keep the reader entranced. The tangled web of French, Scottish and English Royal families vie for attention as Mary tries to figure out what led to her date of execution that the book opens up with.
Reviewed By Rachel J. Richards
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