This international bestseller from a prominent 20th-century writer inspired Antonia Fraser’s Mary Queen of Scots. A classic royal biography that offers an in-depth look at one of one of the most fascinating—and misunderstood—figures in British history. From the moment of her birth to her death on the scaffold, Mary Stuart spent her life embroiled in power struggles that shook the foundations of Renaissance Europe. Revered by some as the rightful Queen of England, reviled by others as a murderous adulteress, her long and fascinating rivalry with her cousin Elizabeth I led ultimately to her downfall. Zweig, one of the most popular writers of the twentieth century, brings Mary to life and turns her tale into a story of passion and plotting as gripping as any novel.

"Mary Stuart's execution remains an entirely unacceptable crime morally (...) However, it is equally difficult to deny that the destruction of Mary Stuart was a prudent course of action from a public policy standpoint. Because, regrettably, in politics, the determining issue is not the correctness of a legislation, but its success." Stefan Zweig was enchanted with Mary Stuart, whose life he perceived as immensely paradoxical and from whom he perceived a "inexhaustible attraction of mystery." Thus, he investigated the queen of Scotland and Elizabeth I's fierce rival through the lens of a novelistic biography. Zweig is the undisputed master of this genre: he meticulously details the tumultuous life of this amazing woman, who culminated on the scaffold. Biography Stefan Zweig (1881-1942) was born into a Jewish commercial family in Vienna. He created poetry, stories, plays, and essays, all of which were burned by the Nazis in 1933. He resided in Salzburg from 1919 until 1934, then moved to England and then to Brazil in 1941. His epic works, like his historical miniatures and biographical works, made him famous. He deliberately put up his life in Petrópolis, Brazil, on February 23, 1942.