Rizzio: Darkland Tales
March 9th 1566, Edinburgh. Conspirators want to murder Mary Queen of Scots’ suspected lover during a tennis match, but her estranged husband, Darnley, says no. Six-months pregnant Mary won’t be there. Darnley wants her to witness the violence, in the hope that she will miscarry and die, so he can rule by himself. So starts Denise Mina’s unputdownable novella about the murder of David Rizzio, Mary’s personal secretary.
It’s a famous incident in history. Rizzio is stabbed 56 times after he is dragged from the room in Holyrood Palace where he and Mary are dining. This is despite him grabbing hold of Mary’s skirts and her attempting to shield him as he begs for mercy. Mary’s husband is backed by Protestant lords, sympathetic to England, who are due to lose their powers in a few days when Catholic Mary holds a Parliament. But when there is a coup who can be trusted?
Mina explores this bloody incident with forensic and gripping detail. We get an insight into the debated parentage of Mary’s child (the future King James VI & I), the conspirators and their fates. It’s written in a taut detective-story style, with flashes of modern wit. Mina is an award-winning crime novelist. The murder appears to be the catalyst that leads to Mary’s later turbulent life, and the road to execution at Fotheringhay on the orders of another Queen—Elizabeth I. The book is part of a series reimagining stories from Scottish history by Scottish writers. Highly recommended.
