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A Question of Guilt: A Novel of Mary of Scots & Death of Darnley by Julianne Lee

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SonjaMarie
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A Question of Guilt: A Novel of Mary of Scots & Death of Darnley by Julianne Lee

Post by SonjaMarie » Tue November 11th, 2008, 3:30 am

"A Question of Guilt: A Novel of Mary, Queen of Scots and the Death of Henry Darnley" by Julianne Lee

It's a few days after the Execution of Mary Queen of Scots in 1587 and in London Lady Janet de Ros nee Douglas has questions. Why do people think she was really executed for killing her husband and not plotting against Elizabeth? What did she have to do with Henry Darnley's death and did she really deserve to be executed.

She starts an impromptu investigation to decide for herself the heart of the matter.

Unfortunately her investigation garners unwanted attention and is told to cease and desist by her husband. But Janet is stubbornly determined and continues regardless of the danger to her freedom and damage to her marriage.

The story goes back and forth between 1587 and 20 or so years earlier as she learns bits of the story from people who were there.

I really enjoyed this book, it was an interesting take on this story. I found it to be a fast read and only had minor typos, mainly at the beginning, and easy to overlook. I recommend this book.

SM
Last edited by SonjaMarie on Tue November 11th, 2008, 3:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Susan » Tue November 11th, 2008, 1:07 pm

This book just arrived yesterday and I look forward to reading it. I like reading a different perspective of historical events we think we know.
~Susan~
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Perdita
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Post by Perdita » Tue November 11th, 2008, 1:37 pm

It sounds really good, thanks for the recommendation!

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Post by Susan » Sat December 6th, 2008, 12:03 pm

I started reading A Question of Guilt the other day and I have a question. The female protagonist, who lives in London in 1587, goes off and travels around investigating the truth behind Mary, Queen of Scots. She is traveling with her driver and two (I think) maids. How realistic would it have been for a woman of her class and of that time to travel in such a manner? I do agree with SonjaMarie that the book does give an interesting point of view.
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Post by Julianne Lee » Thu February 18th, 2010, 3:09 pm

Susan;

To answer your question about Janet making that trip north, you make an excellent point. But I think her husband is somewhat indulgent, she's a little pushy (as evidenced by her disobedience in Scotland), and she didn't travel alone. She didn't have a huge entourage, but I think she had as many people as befitted her station. I suppose she could have had more, but the issue is debatable. At least, that's the way I see it.

I hope you enjoyed the book in spite of this concern.

Julianne Lee

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Post by Susan » Fri February 19th, 2010, 12:27 am

[quote=""Julianne Lee""]Susan;

To answer your question about Janet making that trip north, you make an excellent point. But I think her husband is somewhat indulgent, she's a little pushy (as evidenced by her disobedience in Scotland), and she didn't travel alone. She didn't have a huge entourage, but I think she had as many people as befitted her station. I suppose she could have had more, but the issue is debatable. At least, that's the way I see it.

I hope you enjoyed the book in spite of this concern.

Julianne Lee[/quote]

Thanks for the answer, Julianne. I forgot I had asked the question and yes, I did enjoy the book!
~Susan~
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Post by Julianne Lee » Fri February 19th, 2010, 4:44 am

Susan;

Yeah, it's an old thread, but I just signed up here and only now found it. I'm glad you enjoyed the book.

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Post by SonjaMarie » Fri February 19th, 2010, 5:49 am

Julianne: Welcome to the site! As I posted in the first post I enjoyed this book. Your 2nd book is about someone I'm not interested in, I'm a Lady Jane Grey fan, so I'm not big on Mary, LOL! Check out my site on Jane if you can!

SM
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Post by Julianne Lee » Fri February 19th, 2010, 2:40 pm

[quote=""SonjaMarie""]Julianne: Welcome to the site! As I posted in the first post I enjoyed this book. Your 2nd book is about someone I'm not interested in, I'm a Lady Jane Grey fan, so I'm not big on Mary, LOL! Check out my site on Jane if you can!

SM[/quote]

SonjaMarie;
Yes, you did post that you liked it, and thank you for saying so. Very soon I'll be updating my web page, and will put up some links to favorable reviews.

As for Jane Grey, since the proposal currently sitting on my editor's desk is about Jane, I'll certainly check out your site. Thanks.

Julianne Lee
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"Her Mother's Daughter: A Novel of Queen Mary Tudor"

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Post by Jemidar » Fri February 19th, 2010, 3:21 pm

[quote=""Susan""]I started reading A Question of Guilt the other day and I have a question. The female protagonist, who lives in London in 1587, goes off and travels around investigating the truth behind Mary, Queen of Scots. She is traveling with her driver and two (I think) maids. How realistic would it have been for a woman of her class and of that time to travel in such a manner? I do agree with SonjaMarie that the book does give an interesting point of view.[/quote]

I found this premise to be implausible (not just the manner of her traveling but that she traveled at all!) and unfortunately I couldn't get past it to finish the book. Also the word Treason kept popping into my head (although I'm not sure if she was technically committing treason) and it just wouldn't go away. It just didn't ring true to me that her husband would give her leave to go asking questions about a politically sensitive personage who was way above their station in life.

I also had to smile at her search for truth...surely the truth was whatever Elizabeth l (or William Cecil) decided it was! And you questioned it at your peril!!

My other problem was the willingness (or garrulousness) of people to speak well of someone who had just been executed for political reasons, probably on trumped up charges but still...would they really take a stranger asking about Mary Queen of Scots into their confidence under such circumstances??

I still have the book so I may give it another go at some stage, but the first time round it was a wallbanger for me. I did however buy the Mary l book which I have in my TBR, so I'll see how it goes before I give up completely on this author.


Jenny

"Well-behaved women rarely make history."
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

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