Considering I already have over half of the reference sources myself, this was nothing new for me. As an introduction to Marie de Guise, it is suitable.

Like many others, I had an issue with the title - one expected to see Marie and Henry duke it out but alas, alack,and anon ...... t'would have been better titled "A Life of Marie de Guise".

I have adored Mary, Queen of Scots since I was 12 years old, thanks to my history teacher, but the story of her mother, Marie de Guise, is less well known. Her first marriage and resultant children is hardly ever mentioned, these details were fascinating , but so sad, when children were left behind as mothers left to go to other countries upon remarriage.
Marie was born into the powerful and very charismatic Lorraine family. They were very high up in the court of Francois the first of France. They were courtiers, Archbishops, soldiers, and they sought to gain advancement and titles. Marie was well educated, kind hearted and was sought after as a wife by both Henry v111, and his nephew, James the fifth of Scotland. That would have caused the whole Royal history of this country to have been completely rewritten!
After the birth of Mary, Queen of Scots, the only surviving child, who held that title from the age of 6 days, Marie fought tenaciously to hold the throne for her daughter. She had to fight off marriage proposals for both her and her daughter, she was a foreigner in Scotland, was a Catholic, when parts of Scotland were turning Protestant. She had to pacify the many lords and nobles who didn’t believe in a female ruler, and it must have seemed so easy to give up and go back to France, to her family. She managed to rule with respect and courage, protected her daughter from abduction by the English Crown, and eventually saw her daughter married to the French Dauphin Francis.
I learnt much from this book, there is so much research included, but it doesn’t detract from a very good story. I have visited so many places in France and Scotland on the trail of Mary, Queen of Scots, perhaps it is time to return to France and find out more about a brave 16 th century, female ruler.
My thanks to Pen and Sword history, for my ARC. Thanks also to Netgalley. This is my honest review. I shall leave a copy of this on Goodreads and Amazon later.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Well written and very educational. Gives you a full picture. I enjoyed this book very much and would highly recommend.

This is a book about the mother of Mary Queen of Scots, Marie de Guise. Really she should be better known as she was very important in Scottish, English, and French history. Thank you to Pen & Sword Books, Melanie Clegg, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an eGalley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the author’s voice most of the time. The text starts out a bit like historical fiction but then reverts back into more of a narration of history, which I prefer in a biography. The author’s explanation of people and events helped me to bolster my understanding of this time period and the players. With so many important players and political upheaval in western Europe and the British Isles at this time it can be quite confusing.

There are editorial problems, though, and this book was published in 2016, I believe in the UK. There are sentences in the text that desperately need to be broken up into separate sentences. One of the run-on sentences near the beginning of the book is:

"He was also sent further afield and, in 1521, could be found fighting for the French in Navarre as part of an invasion of Spain, where he managed to distinguish himself at the siege of the allegedly impregnable fortress town of Fuenterrabia, which was considered to be the key to northwestern Spain." (I tried to indent this entire paragraph as it is a quote, but the NetGalley software would not allow it.)

There’s more than one thought here and this could’ve been broken down into at least two interesting sentences. Readers such as myself who enjoy history but have been trained to write in direct, strong language find long, multi-concept sentences to be jarring.

Also, the publisher could’ve done a much better job of editing this text. There are words that are run together, missing words in sentences, and extra words in a sentence that make no sense. This was first published in September 2016, these errors should’ve been corrected! There’s too many of them.

It would’ve been helpful to have just a little more background on who Monsieur d’Oysel and Ralph Sadler were. From reading the text we can understand their purpose but not a lot about them without secondary research. A few additional words about the Landsknechts would also have been interesting.

When the author begins to bring “Elizabeth Tudor” into the conversation from 1558 on, it might be helpful for some readers if there is a notation or mention that she became Queen of England in 1558. I may have missed this in the text, and there is a disconnect when Elizabeth is referred to as “Queen Elizabeth” later on (at the time that Marie de Guise goes to Edinburgh Castle during England’s attack from the Firth of Forth). Also confusing is that the author discusses Marie writing “her final letters to the faithful Oysel” on June 27, but then a page later Marie is meeting with the lords of the Congregation on June 7. (This is at about 93% of the ebook.) It’s a particularly egregious mistake since Marie de Guise died on June 11, 1560.

Overall, it’s a good book and I recommend it. Jut be prepared for editorial issues.

For people who love historical biographies, this is an untapped vein of fascinating content. Drawn in by the title and its reference to Henry VIII,I found myself discovering a whole new part of history. This is a terrific book and a refreshing new angle on a period of history already well chronicled.

Thank you to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for the opportunity to read Scourge of Henry VIII: The Life of Marie de Guise so that I may provide an honest review.

I was eager to read Melanie Clegg's book about Marie de Guise as most of what is written about the history of that period is through the lens of the French or English. Although Marie de Guise may be a lesser known figure of those turbulent times, Clegg offered a detailed look at a life of a charismatic, influential and savvy political operator and the book did not disappoint. Thoroughly researched, I enjoyed Clegg's writing and how she allowed the reader to come to know Marie de Guise in her entirety by weaving together personal details with accounts of the politically charged times through which she lived. I found the title to be unfortunate as it misrepresents the relationship between Henry VIII and Marie de Guise and does not give proper credit due to the remarkable life of de Guise.

“Scourge of Henry VIII: The Life of Marie de Guise” by Melanie Clegg was a compelling read, not too convoluted and highly interesting. As mother and regent of Mary Queen of Scots, her story is brought to light and admittedly, it was new for me, her life having been overshadowed by her daughter Mary and her failures as a ruler. The title of this book is perhaps a little misleading - although Marie de Guise was once a potential wife for Henry VIII, the French King wed her to James V, as an assurance of keeping up the alliance between Scotland and France.

It was an enjoyable read overall, which fans of history and general readers alike will enjoy and it does much to bring Marie de Guise’s fascinating history to life, giving her the recognition as a ruler she deserves.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.