Member Reviews
Anna C, Reviewer
As a history student, I really enjoyed The Lost Tudor Princess. Considering how much has been written about the Tudors, it is surprising how little Margaret Douglas has been studied. The book was very detailed, possibly too much for those who are interested in the Tudors in a general sense.
But as an educational resource I thought it was very well written and clearly very well researched, and I enjoyed it as much as I did the other books that Alison Weir has written.
Lauren K, Reviewer
We've all watched The Tudors and read countless biographies of Henry VIII and his wives, so I'm always pleased to have the opportunity to read about this era of English history from a fresh perspective. Weir's focus on a little-discussed member of the extended family helps to flesh out the portrayals of the more famous figures of the time, adding new color to an already colorful world. Recommended.
T B, Reviewer
This was a very interesting book about Queen Margaret and I learned new things but I found it quite hard to get through because the level of detail.
Jaclyn M, Reviewer
A biography about the life of Margaret Douglas, also known as the niece of King Henry VIII, the daughter of his sister, who was Queen of Scotland. It follows her life and how very sad and lonely it was and how political things got in the past. It's very extensive and it can be dry at times because some of the events did not happen to her but to the people around her and so she disappears for some chapters. I don't know if I would recommend this book to just read, it was hard to get through at times and I've had to put it down and pick it up over the months but it was still good information if you are interested in that time period.
Krista S, Educator
"The Lost Tudor Princess" is a biography of Lady Margaret Douglas, who was Henry VIII's cousin. The book, like many Weir histories, is a dense, moment-by-moment retelling of the Great Matter and the Elizabeth/Queen of Scots showdown. The good is that Alison Weir is obviously fiercely dedicated to the subject matter and isn't afraid to go into fine details. The bad is that the book desperately needs an editor and more focus. For example, if we assume the book's focus is to be Margaret Douglas, the author didn't need tedious diversions into every Tudor scandal possible. In addition, the book swerves off from its typical style (moment by moment listings of actions) to speculative analysis of symbolism, house lay-outs, and poetry. This is certainly interesting, but it is tonally different from the rest of the text and doesn't seem to fit. Lastly, the author seems to struggle with sources that focus on her leading lady, which is why we receive many references as to how Margaret "probably" did something, or "might" have felt a certain way. Even when such speculation is pertinent (like Margaret's feelings toward Mary Queen of Scots after Darnley's death), the impact is watered down by the steady drum-beat of guessing earlier in the text.
Morgan S, Reviewer
A very interesting read. It was nice to learn so much about Queen Margaret. I learned so many new things.
It was a little hard to get through though. I have a hard time getting through non fiction, and an ever harder time keeping all the people in my head. After a while they all start to blur to get together.
Melisende d, Reviewer
Why do I keep giving Weir chance after chance. Yet another 500 plus pages of history lessons replacing much lacking fact. Another case of quantity over quality.
Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, mother of Darnley and mother-in-law of Mary Queen of Scots - yes, a lost Tudor princess; yes, a woman whose life deserves the spotlight; yes, another case where fact is more interesting than fiction. A woman whose life reveals to us very little - and yet - 500 plus pages!
I have said this over and over - I would rather 100 pages of what is known rather than 500 pages of boring, rehashed history, personal opinion, and filling in the gaps with dates and documents. As I stated in my review of Weir's "Elizabeth or York" - "I am trying very hard to fathom the amount of actual information there is on Elizabeth that was worthy of 600 odd pages - quite frankly it required barely a quarter in my opinion. The larger the book ... overcompensating for a distinct lack of anything else.". The same can be said, I am sorry to say, of this tome on Margaret Douglas.
