Doomed Queens. by Kris Waldherr

Waldherr, Kris. Doomed Queens.
Broadway Books (Random), 2008, 176p, $14.95, 978-0-7679-2899-1.

Discusses the unfortunate deaths of fifty different queens throughout history and examines what they had in common that led to their untimely demise.
Technically, Princess Di was not a queen, but she was royal by marriage and by all accounts, the marriage was doomed from the start. And of course, her life ended tragically. Diana is not alone; other royal women as far back 835 BC shared her fate. In a light, entertaining narrative, readers learn about royal women who met an untimely end through poisoning, starvation, beheading and assassination, to name a few. The queenly profiles are divided chronologically by chapter, from the Biblical to the semi-modern, with a quirky end of chapter multiple choice quiz at the end of each chapter. Each profile is short but succinct, ranging from one to three pages, and highlights the well-known doomed queens (the wives of Henry VII and Marie Antoinette) to the lesser known (Caroline of Brunswick and Urraca of Castille) to the multicultural (Oghul Ghaimish and Empress Xu Pingjun). A cautionary moral is associated with each queen. For example: “Don’t marry a man in love with another man.” Had Roxanne, the wife of Alexander the Great, realized this, she may have saved herself much heartache as well as death by poisoning. Pencil sketches and sidebar information accompanies most profiles. Includes a timeline, Table of Contents and an Index.
Recommended as brain candy - a fun read. RZ

A read along for the new movie: Elizabeth The Golden Age

Lotz, Nancy. Mary Queen of Scots. Morgan Reynolds, 2007. 160p 1-59935-040-8 $32.00

In Morgan Reynolds' European Queens series, authors Nancy Lotz and Carlene Phillips outline the sad life of Mary, Queen of Scots. Born amid the tempestuous religious conflict raging across Europe in the mid-16th century, Mary was the only daughter Of James V of Scotland and Marie de Guise, and their only surviving child. Upon James' death, Mary at nine months of age, Mary was crowned Queen of the Scots. She inherited a kingdom torn apart by English rule, clan wars, religious conflict and the battles fought for Scottish independence.

The Scots' Queen was determined to restore and impose Catholicism to Scotland, which had been outlawed under the rule of Henry VIII of England. Indeed, most of the conflict that surrounded Mary's life, especially the misgivings she had with her cousin, Elizabeth I, would point directly back to the tension felt between Catholics and Protestants and the struggle to see one throne in power. Elizabeth had Mary put to death after 15 years of captivity in various castles around England, after hearing of Mary's involvement in a plot to kill Elizabeth. Brave to the last, Mary was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in February, 1587, taking with her the plots and rebellions against the Protestant English Queen.

This is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to know more about Mary, Queen of Scots or about the English monarchy in general. Very well illustrated with portraits and paintings, a timeline and family trees of Mary's both French and English roots, and a list of principal figures in Mary's life. Includes chapter notes, a glossary, a bibliography, booklist, website recommendations, and an index.