I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this book incredibly interesting the author really kept me hooked until the end. very well written I highly recommend.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. Highly recommend! I love the Tudor period and I know some about Mary Queen of Scot's. This was a great read and highly recommend!

I've been enjoying the nonfiction book for a while and this was a well done book. I enjoyed getting to know William Maitland as I really didn't know anything about him. Really well done book.

Mary Queen of Scots' Secretary is a book about Maitland, Queen Mary of Scotland's secretary. It was an interesting part of history to learn about. The book tells of the struggle of Queen Mary's quest to keep the throne and to continue the succession line for Scotland and Maitland's role that he played in the rollercoaster ride (keeping Mary on the throne and her being arrested) of her reign. This would be a perfect read for Royal History buffs. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book! (This review is also on GoodReads.)

This book is a new and enlightening glimpse into Maitland, Mary Queen of Scots's personal secretary. In it, the author argues that it was Maitland who was principally responsbile for the sequence of events that led to Mary''s deposition as Queen of Scotland. I enjoyed learning more about this era and the actors in it, and getting more insight into this.

Maitland - who was he? what was his role in the government of Mary Queen of Scots? what was his role in Darnely's murder? did he bring about the downfall of Mary?

Maitland is a shadowy character, and I found myself often comparing him to Cecil, Elizabeth's right hand man - a man, I think, Maitland admired and wanted to emulate. However, he never did manage to maintain the consistency that Cecil did, and Scottish politics would not allow him to do so.

Those looking for a standard biography of this man may be slightly disappointed. He is more to be found in the shadows, working behind the scenes, often out of Scotland on diplomatic missions, so it difficult to assess just how influential he actually was.

I was interested in Stedall's take on Maitland is one of the instigators in Darnley's murder, one of those behind the infamous "casket letters" (of which I am no expert), and as a rather inconsistent supporter of Mary.

The reign of Mary is the focus - Maitalnd was - as the title suggests - a politician, a religious reform, and ultimately, a conspirator, before coming full circle as ardent supporter. With very little to go on, it becomes evident that Maitland would be seen in relation to the events of Mary's life and reign - a bit much like many women who lived off the pages that their more historically dominant husbands occupied.

Even with the benefit of hindsight, it is every difficult to judge and assess a person' motivations at that point in time; and even hindsight is often clouded by an author's bias, whether they be a contemporary or modern source. And as we have seen, it is also very easy to make facts support just about any theory.

But Stedall's book does give pause for thought - and I enjoy reading another author's perspective on events, especially when they diverge from mainstream consensus - I mean, who wants to read the same thing over and over again - you would only ever need to buy one book!

Yes, I would love to have had Maitland feature more prominently - but sometimes there is just not enough factual documentation for this to occur. It does however, shed light on the political and religious struggles within Scotland at the time of Mary's reign, which is often overlooked as her cousin, Elizabeth, takes the limelight nine times out of ten. But in the end he did achieve one thing - the succession of a Scottish monarch upon the English throne.

Most of us are well aware of the story of Mary, Queen of Scots but even as an avid reader of Tudor era books I knew very little about Maitland, Secretary to Mary.

Stedall's book appealed to me in wishing to know more about the events behind the scenes of Mary's life and reign.

Maitland was a politician and became a Protestant before Mary returned from France. Stedall explains how Maitland managed to join the reformers, liaise with Lord Burghley and remain in favour at the Scottish Court.

Maitland had an undeniable impact on Mary's life and was involved in some of the most dramatic events of her reign and life. I enjoyed reading Stedall's views as it is clearly the result of much research.

Maitland worked hard for the issues he believed in, mainly the Protestant cause in Scotland and faced a sad end for someone who spent his life in service to the crown and country.

I would say this is a book for those with an academic interest and not those wanting an easy read. It does not just center on Maitland so may also appeal to those with a general interest in the politics and religion of the era and of course Mary Queen of Scots.

So many monographs have been published about Mary Stuart and her reign over the last 20 years that it is simply wonderful when a detailed & overdue biography of William Maitland of Lethington is finally out! A key player within the strenuous and often difficult Anglo-Scottish relations during the second half of the 16th century. Robert Stedall give us a masterful portrait of a diplomat, courtier & political conspirator deeply involved in the never ending tug of war between his sovereign and Queen Elizabeth. I particularly enjoyed the conspiratorial manoeuvres involved around Mary Stuart. This splendid biography should definitely please all the readers enthralled by the period.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Pen & Sword for giving me the opportunity to read this wonderful biography prior to its release date.

I am struggling to review this book, I really enjoyed it and as a book on Mary Queen of Scots, Maitland, Darnley and the whole tike period it is brilliant. As a biography of Maitland it falls down though as I suggest only about 1/3 at most of the book is specifically about him. I found this frustrating as I was hoping for deep and fresh insight into Maitland's life and character. So this book in well written and I would recommend it, but not as a biography of Maitland.

One of the most dynamic queens in 16th century Europe who spent most of her youth in a country that was not her homeland, but was fighting for the right to rule England. Her name was Mary Queen of Scots, the cousin of Queen Elizabeth I. Many know of her tragic tale, but there was a man who was behind the scenes trying to guide Scotland to a brighter future. He was not married to Mary Queen of Scots, but he was influential in her life and choosing who she might marry and who she would end up divorcing. He was a politician and a religious reformer whose decisions would alter history dramatically. His name was William Maitland and he served as Mary’s secretary. He is always mentioned as a footnote in history, until now. Robert Stedall’s latest biography, “Mary Queen of Scots’ Secretary: William Maitland- Politician, Reformer, and Conspirator”, explores the life and legacy of this rather extraordinary secretary.

I would like to thank Pen and Sword Books and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this book. When I saw this book,I was intrigued since I had never heard of William Maitland, except in footnotes in books about Mary Queen of Scots that I have read in the past. I wanted to know more about the man who knew Mary so well and helped her with such significant decisions in her life.

After Mary Queen of Scots’ first husband, Francis II of France passed away at a young age, she made the journey back to the country of her birth, Scotland, where she was introduced to William Maitland. As a Protestant reformer, he believed that the best thing for the country and the Scottish Reformation would be to break the Auld Alliance with France and to gain closer ties with England. Mary’s second husband, Lord Darnley, is less than agreeable to Maitland, so he and others help plot his murder. This decision led to Mary’s imprisonment and the succession of her son James as king.

Stedall’s whole premise revolves around the idea that Maitland helped plan Darnley’s murder. I do have a few problems with this book. First, for a biography that should revolve around Maitland, it felt like Maitland was more of a background character to Mary’s story. Second, the case that he lays out for Maitland being involved in the murder revolves around the validity of the infamous Casket Letters, which many believe are forgeries and have disappeared. It is hard to prove a case when the evidence in question may have been fakes and are lost to history. Finally, I felt like Stedall’s writing style was a bit dry for my personal taste. I know that this was supposed to be academic in nature, with the focus on the political and religious nature of Maitland’s life, but it just fell flat to me.

Overall, I felt like this book was okay. It may have shown how the political and religious divides influenced the decisions of Mary Queen of Scots’ reign, but it needed a stronger focus on William Maitland. I feel like Stedall has a passion for this period of Scottish history and he has done his research, but he needed to reign it in a bit more. I think if you enjoy reading about Mary Queen of Scots, “Mary Queen of Scots’ Secretary: William Maitland- Politician, Reformer and Conspirator” by Robert Stedall might be a book you should check out.

I am absolutely obsessed with this period of time in history. Why is it that it is so easy to romanticize a cruel and hard time period in history- I don't know. This book was fascinating with thorough detail of her secretary's intense loyalty to a woman who did not make that an easy thing to give. William's end is particularly unfitting as he fought by and with Mary for so many years.

This is many things but a biography of Maitland it is not. I reckon Maitland's life takes up less than a quarter of this work, the rest is a rehash of the life of Mary Queen of Scots, the murder of Darnely, etc. All told in that awful chess board style much beloved of a certain class of biographer.
I wanted to know more about Maitland, all I really found out was the author didn't like him very much..

A truly interesting account of Mary Queen of Scots' Secretary William Maitland. Perfect for the serious history enthusiast - extraordinarily well researched, it's quite an academic book, not a light and breezy read - but an in-depth account of the politics, religious turmoil and plotting that shaped Scotlands history.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Pen and Sword for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

I was thrilled to be able to read this and I absolutely loved this
Well written, so well researched - I learned so much about an era I have long been fascinated by

I cannot recommend this highly enough

This book is a deep delve into a man that was an exceptional politician and diplomat during the time of Mary Queen of Scots. This is exactly the kind of person you would expect in this position as one who would be written about in history. This history book is filled with accounts of a man that did everything in his power to deflect France and secure the throne for Mary.

I feel this book is geared toward people that would greatly benefit from an extremely serious work and study of Maitland. If you needed a history and research of the man and the time period selected, this would be a treasure trove of information. As someone who is reading for fun or for pleasure, I might say no. The writing in some ways feels mired with monotony in the detail of retelling. I love the subject matter presented however, I just wish to the unversed reader of this history it could have been presented in a more engaging way, although I don't believe it is for that audience. The writing at some points comes off as very text-booky for lack of a better term. For that reason alone is why I would give it four out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Publishers for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Incredibly well-written and researched. A very in-depth look at Mary Queen of Scots' Secretary William Maitland. I found it fascinating and very interesting. I highly recommend it to any history buffs.