The Tower by Flora Carr
As a devoted admirer of Mary Stuart, I hold historical fiction about Mary’s life to high standards. I am pleased to say that The Tower by Flora Carr met — and exceeded — those expectations. Mary, Queen of Scots, is my favorite historical figure. Her tragic story can be told many ways, but, often, I find her life and her true personality is diminished, made small by circumstances around her. In The Tower, Flora Carr manages to craft a robust portrait of Mary Stuart, all while focusing on a discrete period of time often glossed over in history books. It is, in short, a masterpiece. Read on for more details:
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About the Author, Flora Carr
Flora Carr is a London based writer who has written a number of critically acclaimed short stories. Carr has been recognized as one of 40 Emerging Writers by the London Library in the 2020/2021 cycle, and she has written journalistic pieces for a variety of publications, including TIME Magazine and British ELLE. The Tower is her first novel.
Plot Summary
Scotland, 1567. A pregnant Mary, Queen of Scots is dragged out of her palace by rebel lords and imprisoned in the isolated Lochleven Castle, an ancient fortress surrounded by a vast lake. Her infant son and heir, James, has been captured by her enemies.
Accompanying Mary are two inconspicuous serving women: observant, ambitious Jane and romantic, quick-tempered Cuckoo, who endeavor to keep their mercurial mistress company while sharing the space of a claustrophobic room over the course of their eleven-month forced stay. Their hosts want them dead. They’ll settle for Mary’s abdication.
After Mary reluctantly surrenders her throne, her closest friend, the reserved, devoted Lady Seton, is permitted to join the captive women. Against the odds, as they hatch a perilous getaway plan, the four women form a bond that transcends class and religion, and for Jane and Seton, becomes something even deeper. At the center of it all is Mary–calculating, charming, brave, and unbowed. Flora Carr’s thrilling, feverish debut is a celebration of resilience, a meditation on the meaning of power, and a testament to the unshakeable strength of female friendship, starring one of history’s most charismatic leaders.
My Thoughts on The Tower by Flora Carr
5/5 Stars
As I said above, Mary Stuart is my favorite historical figure. I have read pretty much everything about the Queen of Scots that I can get my hands on. Mary’s incarceration in Lochleven Castle is often a blip in her story — noted for the forced abdication she suffered at the hands of her enemies, and little else.
In The Tower, Flora Carr turns this often-overlooked period of Mary’s fall from power into a dramatic tableau. Focusing in the deposed Scottish queen and three of her maidservants, the book manages to craft a veil around Mary the way one imagines the real Mary attempted to maintain. The women allowed to care for her actively vie for the queen’s affections, unsure of their standing, especially compared to Seaton, one of Mary’s famous “Four Marys” who served the queen from a young age. The novel is as much about these women and the dynamics between them, along with their motivations in staying with the fallen queen, as it is about Mary Stuart herself.
As with many books about Mary Stuart, the narration gives glimpses into what we know will happen with Mary: her lengthy imprisonment in England and ultimate execution. The glimpses of the future, when compounded with the visceral, emotional descriptions of Mary’s time in Lochleven, when she still had hope of regaining her power, make the novel particularly gripping. Like watching a train wreck, you know what happens, but you can’t look away.
Where to Buy The Tower
The Tower is available from Amazon and Bookshop.org. I highly recommend checking out the audiobook here; the narration was fantastic!
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