Public-domain ebook
by Jacob Abbott
Language: en4,812 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
In: Biographies·History - British·History - Modern (1750+)
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #28283.
The work is a nineteenth‑century historical narrative that treats the life of Mary, Queen of Scots, as a series of illustrated chapters intended for a youthful American audience. It opens with a broad statement on why the same historical events are recounted in many different ways, then explains that this particular series is designed for readers aged fifteen to twenty‑five who want a concise, purpose‑driven account of Old‑World events. After this preface, the book launches into a detailed description of Mary’s birth, the ruined palace at Linlithgow, and the political turmoil that followed her father’s death, setting the stage for the subsequent chapters listed in the contents. The opening passages blend factual exposition with vivid description of the ruined palace, the loch, and the early diplomatic negotiations surrounding Mary’s future marriage.
Written in a didactic, almost lecture‑like style typical of late‑Victorian educational texts, the prose is formal yet accessible, peppered with extensive footnotes, maps, and engravings. Readers who enjoy thorough, document‑rich biographies, especially those interested in the interplay of religion, politics, and personal tragedy in early modern Britain, will find this volume a satisfying, scholarly‑flavored introduction to Mary’s tumultuous reign.
The opening · free to read
In the Clerk's Office of the Southern District of New York.
Copyright, 1876, by JACOB ABBOTT.
PREFACE.
The history of the life of every individual who has, for any reason, attracted extensively the attention of mankind, has been written in a great variety of ways by a multitude of authors, and persons sometimes wonder why we should have so many different accounts of the same thing. The reason is, that each one of these accounts is intended for a different set of readers, who read with ideas and purposes widely dissimilar from each other. Among the twenty millions of people in the United States, there are perhaps two millions, between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five, who wish to become acquainted, in general, with the leading events in the history of the Old World, and of ancient times, but who, coming upon the stage in this land and at this period, have ideas and conceptions so widely different from those of other nations and of other times, that a mere republication of existing accounts is not what they require. The story must be told expressly for them. The things that are to be explained, the points that are to be brought out, the comparative degree of prominence to be given to the various particulars, will all be different, on account of the difference in the situation, the ideas, and the objects of these new readers, compared with those of the various other classes of readers which former authors have had in view. It is for this reason, and with this view, that the present series of historical narratives is presented to the public. The author, having had some opportunity to become acquainted with the position, the ideas, and the intellectual wants of those whom he addresses, presents the result of his labors to them, with the hope that it may be found successful in accomplishing its design.
CONTENTS.
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