This is an intense historical novel about Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. The writing is so compelling that it kept me interested throughout its 591 pages. From a modern point of view, it's disturbing that so much violence was done in the name of religion (in this case Catholic v. Protestant) and that religion governed politics almost completely. This copy has a cloth binding, was printed by Ballantine Books in 1956, and has no ISBN # printed in it.

I picked up this book, on impulse, from Caffe Nero in downtown Melrose a couple months ago. After reading it, I returned it to the same place.