Homecoming

One of the most famous queens in history, Mary Stuart lived in her homeland for just twelve years: as a dauntless child who laughed at her friends seasickness as they sailed to safety in France and later, on her return as a 18-year-old widow to take control of a nation riven with factions, dissent and religious strife. Brief though her time in Scotland was, her experience profoundly influenced who she was and what happened to her.

In this book, Rosemary Goring tells the story of Mary's Scottish years through the often dramatic and atmospheric locations and settings where the events that shaped her life took place and also examines the part Scotland, and its tumultuous court and culture, played in her downfall. Whether or not Mary Stuart emerges blameless or guilty, in this evocative retelling she can be seen for who she really was.

Locations included:

Linlithgow Palace Stirling Castle Dumbarton Castle Leith Holyrood Palace Crichton Castle Darnaway Castle Huntly Castle Spynie Palace Falkland Palace Seton Palace St Andrews and Fife Dunbar Castle Edinburgh Castle Traquair House Hermitage Castle Jedburgh, Mary Queen of Scots House Craigmillar Castle Edinburgh and Kirk o' Field Borthwick Castle Carberry Hill Lochleven Castle Langside * Dundrennan Abbey

'a nicely measured book, intelligent, engaging and well-balanced' Allan Massie, The Scotsman

'Brings into vibrant focus some lesser-known, intimate details about the young queen that make her wholly relatable today'

-- Sally McDonald Sunday Post

'Like Mary, Homecoming is fresh and flighty, maddening, but irresistibly unbuttoned'

-- Jessie Childs Times

'If anyone was able to add anything fresh to the story of Mary's life...then it would be Rosemary Goring, who has carved out an eminent role for herself as a highly respected author of books about Scottish history'

-- Ken Lussey Undiscovered Scotland

'Rosemary's book breathes life into this legendary Queen'

Southern Reporter

'Whether or not Mary Stuart emerges blameless or guilty, she can be seen for who she really was... thanks to Rosemary's painstaking research'

-- Julie Currie East Fife Mail

'a nicely measured book, intelligent, engaging and well-balanced'

-- Allan Massie The Scotsman

‘tells the story of Mary's Scottish years through the often dramatic and atmospheric locations and settings where the events that shaped her life took place’

History Scotland Magazine

'a fresh, richly detailed biography' 

Scottish Field

'Do we really need another book on Mary, Queen of Scots? Yes, because this is the most easily understood of the quagmire that Mary found herself in on her return to Scotland as its queen. Wonderfully written and fascinating for its social history of the era. I can't recommend it highly enough'

The Watermill Bookshop, Aberfeldy

'In this beautifully crafted and deeply researched biography, Rosemary Goring delivers a fascinating account of the twelve years Mary Stuart resided in her native Scotland, and the events that shaped her life as well as the Scottish nation'

Waterstones Bookseller

'This is a fascinating account of the Scottish years of a remarkable Queen. Mary’s life is vividly and dramatically portrayed here by Rosemary Goring'

-- Alexander McCall Smith Little Brown Book Group

'Refreshingly, Goring presents a very even-handed view of Mary, as a queen and as a woman, and the book is full of small details that bring her and her world to life' 

-- Wilson Smith Book of the Old Edinburgh Club

Rosemary Goring worked for the publisher W&R Chambers as a reference editor before becoming literary editor of Scotland on Sunday. She is currently literary editor and columnist for The Herald and Sunday Herald. She is also the author of two historical novels, After Flodden and Dacre's War, and the editor of the bestselling Scotland: The Autobiography, which was published to great acclaim in 2007.

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