Queens' Play
Ratings5
Average rating4.4
The young Mary Queen of Scots is now part of the court of Henri II of France. Mary of Guise, the Queen Mother, on her way from Scotland to visit her daughter, persuades Francis Crawford to go to France to gather intelligence about France's negotiations with England, Scotland's enemy. He reluctantly complies, and becomes a central part of the travelling court's lavish and riotous entertainments - though not in the way his friends had hoped. The action moves between London and France while a traitor plots the death of the young Queen and Crawford is forced into ever more dangerous stratagems to outwit Scotland's enemies.
The chapter headings are taken from the Brehon Laws - the ancient laws and institutes of Ireland.
This is an historical romance and the second of 6 books set in the mid 1500s and focused around a flawed hero, Francis Crawford of Lymond. The series starts and ends in Crawford's (and the author's) homeland of Scotland. The books follow Dunnett's hero through a series of adventures at the centres of power in Scotland, France, Malta, Stamboul (Constantinople), and Russia. He develops as a leader in war and politics, with the potential to rule a country: but at the expense of his humanity, his family and his companions, as he ruthlessly suppresses his own weaknesses and frailties.
The language, culture, customs, political intrigue, warcraft and ethos of the time are captured in beautifully constructed prose and the books are worth reading for this alone. But they are also cracking adventures. If you can, ignore the author's constant reminders of her hero's beauty and stick with them.
Series
Series
6 primary books7 released booksThe Lymond Chronicles
The Lymond Chronicles is a 7-book series with 6 primary works first released in 1961 with contributions by Dorothy Dunnett.
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In Game of Kings, Francis Crawford was a mysterious character who turned out not to be what he seemed. In this book, which involves undercover work and diplomacy (heavy duty acting, in other words), we have more information about what he's up to and why, but we don't know how to put it together to understand his character. We see Crawford as a spy, a soldier, a roustabout, a charismatic leader, a talented musician who has been forced by circumstances to make music secondary to his career as a mercenary–but we don't know what he will ultimately make of himself. Francis Crawford seems to be unclear about this too, and while he is on a reluctantly accepted undercover mission, other characters constantly exert pressure to try to make him serve their own interests. The main interest of this story is seeing how Crawford resists that pressure while making some movement toward discovering his own purpose.
Well, the other interest is Dorothy Dunnett's robust picture of court and city life in the middle of the 16th century, with all of its political action and intrigue. This story takes place among courtiers, menagerie keepers, soldiers, spies, artisans running illegal printing presses and visitors from Ireland looking for help to throw the English out of their country.
The plot is more sensational than Game of Kings, and the emotional tone verges on melodrama at times (and I don't mean this as a negative thing). While Game of Kings can stand on its own, this book is clearly part of a series. Some issues (and characters) are introduced that seem incidental in this story but become central farther along in the series.
