The Forgotten Tudor Royal Margaret Douglas, Grandmother to King James VI & I by Beverley Adams

 This tale of an ambitious Tudor woman, the niece of Henry VIII, read like a novel. What a life Margaret Lennox had! Raised in England, she fell into unsuitable love affairs twice, and found herself in the Tower. Luckily, Henry VIII had great affection for her, or she may have suffered worse punishment. She had a very happy marriage with the handsome soldier Lennox, but lost most of her children, and the couple also had money problems because of Lennox's falling out with the Scots, and taking England's side in the many fights between the two countries.

A strong Catholic, Margaret fared well under the reign of her friend, Queen Mary 1. However, when Elizabeth 1 came to the throne it would be a different story. Margaret and her husband had overwhelming ambitions for their handsome and charming son Lord Darnley, wanting him to marry Mary, Queen of Scots. They also wanted to see England and Scotland united. This didn't go over well with Queen Elizabeth, and Margaret was forced to endure years of imprisonment once again. She also had to face the death of one of her sons, and eventually her husband.

She was reckless, but Margaret was an intelligent woman who managed to negotiate the machinations of the times pretty well, and she stuck to her beliefs in the face of great danger.

I enjoyed this well-researched biography, and recommend it for history-lovers. I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.