In Maria Stuart (Mary Stuart), Stefan Zweig tells us the brutal tale of the 16th-century Scottish queen. 

Mary Stuart is only six days old when she is crowned Queen of Scotland. At the age of sixteen, she also becomes Queen of France. Later, she contends with Elizabeth I for the English crown. The life of Mary Stuart was marked by a series of violent incidents, culminating with her head on the chopping block in 1587, when Queen Elizabeth ordered her beheading. By that time, Mary had spent seventeen years in captivity.

The life of Mary Stuart represents one of the saddest fates in history, and the depictions of her vary greatly.

She was — this much we know — a seductive, warm, and intelligent woman, but likely less of a queen than she believed herself to be. What was the story of Mary Stuart? Was she involved in the death of her second husband?