1. This book is set in the Tudor times when Mary was the Queen of Scotland. It follows the story of Mary's friend and lady in waiting, Jenny. It is kind of a love story, but also an adventure. The prologue shows Mary on her execution day, but the actual story starts in France where Mary. But then when something terrible happens, Mary has to move to Scotland to be queen there.

This book is exciting. I like how Jenny find out things that could threaten Mary, but isn't sure who she can trust. I also like the love story element between her and Duncan Alexander, a young Scottish noble. However, there are quite a lot of political elements that sometimes I found a bit boring and hard to follow. All in all though, this was a good book and I would read more by this author.

Reviewed by Hanna Year 9

2. ANOTHER AMAZING BOOK!!

(Spy for the Queen of Scots has made it into my top 5 fav books! But never mind, the review must go on!)

The atmosphere and scene are described perfectly.  I can imagine everything from Catherine de Medici and Elizabeth 1 hostility to Duncan Alexander and Lady Ginette's (Jenny) love.

All the different characters are different in some way (even stages of evilness!) from Count Clary's arriving to Jenny's concern.  The description was at the right length knowing the scene but not being boringly overloaded with meaningless information which could be summarised in a few sentences.  The events kept me hooked.

9/10!

 

3. Spy for the Queen of Scots is written from the perspective of Lady Ginette, "Jenny", an attendant of Mary, Queen of Scots. The book is set in the 16^th Century during Mary's fight for power and peace in her native Scotland. Unbeknown to Mary, Jenny decides to become a spy for her after overhearing a plot concerning poison and her mistress. Jenny and Mary have to face many battles of politics and religion in France and Scotland during the 30 years before Mary meets her inevitable end.

It took me less than 3 days to finish this historical thriller and romance. Although it took until around Chapter 3 for me to get into the book, when I did, I couldn't put it down. I grew a strong attachment to the characters of Jenny and Sir Duncan Alexander during the course of the novel and I enjoyed the gradual development of their romance over the years. However for me, the ending of the novel turned out to be a letdown in terms of their relationship. After declaring their love for each other, there was no explanation for still unanswered questions, no proposal and no show of emotions or details of Duncan's recovery from his injury. The book just ended with a short account of a scene involving the pair and their child years later.

The characterisation of Queen Mary and the Earl of Bothwell, James Hepburn, also added to my enjoyment of the novel. As someone quite ignorant about the Stewart/Stuart period, I had only heard of "Bloody Mary" before reading the book. However I grew to sympathise with and respect Mary, Queen of Scots, when she stood by her decisions. This was because I see that a lot of the tragedies of her life were not caused by her being a bad person or queen but by her being born in a very politically corrupt and violent period. James Hepburn became an antagonist in my view when he essentially abducted Mary and most probably raped her. Previously, though I knew his reputation as a ladies' man, I found his outrageous humour funny and I respected his loyalty and power.

Breslin's novel contains a useful historical note at the beginning, explaining the context, which I deeply appreciated as a reader extremely interested in its historical content. This, and my research after reading the novel, proved to me how realistic the novel is: the only historical part I could find fault with was the leaving out of the 19 years Mary is held captive before her execution in 1587. The novel jumps straight from her going to England to her execution with no explanation. As someone who likes to know and understand everything at the end of a novel, unless it is in a series, this jump was dissatisfying and an anti-climax. I found out through my own research that Mary is imprisoned in England in various castles for 19 years before being executed for plotting to kill Queen Elizabeth I. This proves that Breslin succeeded in making me want to learn more about 16^th Century Europe and its monarchy.

There is also an author's note at the end of the novel, which is extremely informative about the purpose of the novel and her views on Mary and the historical period she lived in. Breslin describes the Queen of Scots as "fascinating" and "sweet-natured" and disagrees strongly with the historians who call Mary "rash and foolish". Breslin succeeds in persuading the reader to support her point of view as her portrayal of Mary makes the reader understand her decision-making and the nature of the politics behind the scenes. I would definitely like to read more of Breslin's work as I trust her historical accuracy and I loved the way she intertwined a real historical period with the fictional romance of Lady Ginette and Sir Duncan Alexander.

In conclusion, I found, "Spy for the Queen of Scots", a thrilling read and therefore I would definitely recommend it to those interested in history, particularly the Stuarts and Tudors, those interested in politics and those who relish romantic novels. I think teenage girls like myself would enjoy it more than male readers because of the romance and lack of specific grim battle details. Breslin handles the details and complications of Scottish aristocratic politics well and explains it all simply and understandably to the reader. She develops the historical characters well and accurately and carries the reader along with her until the imminent, "They are ready for you, my lady".

Reviewed by Ella

 

4. Summary:

It is the 16^th century. The young Mary Queen of Scots is getting married to her first husband, Francis, prince of France. Her close friend Lady Ginette, better known as Jenny, is accompanying her. When Jenny accidently hears Francis' mother, Catherine de'Medici, having a secret conversation with a pharmacist about poison, she will do anything to protect Mary. When several mysterious deaths occur, her role as "Spy for the Queen of Scots" starts to develop. When Mary and Jenny return to Scotland they realise that not everyone welcomes them with joy...

Through the whole book Jenny is in love with the young Sir Duncan Alexander, but is he her friend or enemy?

Evaluation:

I really enjoyed reading this book. Most of the plot was exiting and gripping. Much of the historical detail did seem realistic (although some of it didn't) and all of the historical characters had a very well thought personality. The tension about Sir Duncan Alexander was very well written; it made sure that I did not put down the book before it was clear to me who he was. Reading this book has made me want to find out more about the Queen of Scots, and it might be nice for anyone, planning to do research on her, to have this book in the back of their minds while reading about the real queen. Also, I would like to read more books of this author.

As said before, there was some historical detail that I did not find entirely convincing. I found the prophecy said in the start of the book particularly unconvincing. First it seemed as if the prophecy would come true, which made me dislike the book slightly. Then it seemed as if the prophecy was in reality nothing but a complicated plot. This I found really gripping. Then, by the end of the book, it is never conveyed whether or not the prophecy is real, which disappointed me.

If the prophecy was real, I would have thought that the book was not very well written. If the prophecy was part of a plot, I would have thought that it was extremely well written. That you never found out made the book seem slightly unfinished. Despite this, I found the book very well written in many other ways and overall I think the historical detail was realistic.

The book is a mixture of a teen-fiction and a historical novel. Therefore I would recommend this book to all teenagers interested (or mildly interested) in history.

Reviewed by Esther

 

5. Spy for the Queen of Scots was one of my favourite books I have read all year. It was a mixture of romance and thriller including the historical fiction. What was really interesting was the characters, my personal favourite was Jenny Ginette who was narrating the story and also was Queen Mary's best friend and soon spy. What I love about this book is the fact that it is narrated by Jenny as it felt like have a direct talk with the character and I love books like that.

Finally I will like to state that it was really twisted as the author has made the romance mix with the thriller and adventure as the one Jenny likes she begins to suspect.

Reviewed by Sruthy

 

6. This book was really good. It was a sort of historical thriller with twists and turns at every page. There were also bits of romance included. It was the sort of book that you just couldn't put down. I would give it a mark of 10/10.

Reviewed by Kulsum

 

7. The Spy for the Queen of Scots begins in France and tells the tale of the charming, soon to be Queen of France, Mary Queen of Scots and her dearest companion Jenny. When danger looms near Jenny decides to help the Queen and become a spy on the look out for danger. The Queen travels back to Scotland danger follows and a twisting turmoil of love, death, betrayal and hate sends every thing spinning and jenny has to work out the mind at the centre.     

I really enjoyed this book it was the first history novel that made me want to go and research more about the characters and I will be definitely going to the book shops and buying another book by this author.

I loved the themes that ran through this book hope, daring, betrayal, love, loyalty and friendship. Personally I enjoyed reading about the main character, jenny, and her strong will to preserver through the hard times when this book is set. I really could relate to the central character and I think that is what the author intended and it really makes you want to keep reading.

The way the book flows and is easy to follow, the under story of Jenny's two lovers gives it depth and an amazing twist at the end, it leads you into believing one thing is going to happen and then it swerves another way.

I especially like novels I can relate to and the well known places in France and Scotland really helped me imagine what it was like to be there in this story, it really made the book come alive.

I have read a lot of history novels and this is the first one that made me want to be a part of the book and to meet all the characters. I think it's the way the author writes it, the charm of one character, the mysterious character of another, is exciting, historic and a truly amazing 5 star read!       

Reviewed by Freya

 

8. I really enjoyed ‘Spy for the Queen of Scots' because it gave me something to do rather than watching TV or annoying my brother, it really got me gripped right from the start and once I started I couldn't stop. It kept me happily reading for hours! I think that the most special character in this book is definitely Jenny; I love how she becomes an undercover spy to protect her best friend- Mary Queen of Scots. I thought that the first and the last few chapters of the book were the best sections of the book. However, I really enjoyed reading every aspect of this book. I feel that the history in this book is realistic but I don't know lots about Mary Queen of Scots. I am definitely going to be looking out for more books by this author; I really love how she makes you feel like that character. I really understood Jenny's feelings about Sir Duncan Alexander and Mary's stress about being queen and escaping being caught. Being a great history lover myself, I really enjoy reading books set in a Historic era. I find that authors like Theresa Breslin make you feel like you're there when the events happened in real life. Spy for the Queen of Scots is by far the BEST book I have EVER read and I will be looking forward to be reading more books by this author in the future!

Reviewed by Katherine

 

9. The book is set the late 1500s, and it is in the first person of Mary's best friend, Lady Ginette, so it is set at all of Mary's abodes.

It describes all the events that happened to Mary, except her imprisonment in England- once Mary is in England it is primarily about her death.

I discovered a new perspective on Mary, because previously I had always read of her being rash and foolish, so it was refreshing reading about her character as witty and sweet-tempered. I also learnt a lot about Mary's life in France, as history books always seemed to glaze over that part, and just talk about her imprisonment in England.

It was a very good, well- written story that kept me anxious to turn each page. Theresa Breslin is fantastic at keeping you interested as your suspicions are almost always wrong. The largest surprise was whom the poisoner was, as it was someone who had always seem good-tempered throughout the book. I knew Mary was executed, so I had mixed feelings about the ending; Lady Ginette has a happy ending, but Mary (one of the  main characters) doesn't.

The main characters were the Lady Ginette, Mary, Queen of Scots, and Sir Duncan Alexander. However, there were many prominent characters that this group met throughout the book. I very much like all three, as they each had interesting characters, and the author even led you to have suspicions about them! They were very believable characters, and I enjoyed reading Lady Ginette's portrayal of what was happening as she was the narrator.

I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I would recommend it to anyone who is even slightly interesting in poison- plots and the like. At first it doesn't feel like a murder- mystery, yet it turns out to be almost precisely that! It was fun to read something like a murder- mystery for a change, and history in my favourite genre, so they were an interesting mix! I would definitely mark it ten out of ten, as it is the best book I have read for a while!

Reviewed by Esalan