Mary Queen of Scots's story certainly has the right ingredients for popular appeal. She lived in interesting times, to say the least, and found herself embroiled in all sorts of dynastic, political and religious manoeuvrings. At one time she was queen of both Scotland and France, and she always proudly maintained a claim on the English throne. But opinions about her remain divided. Some think she was vain and devious, while to others she is a tragically romantic figure.
It's no wonder writers are drawn to Mary as a subject. But traps as deadly as any set by scheming courtiers await the unwary scribe. It takes a serious amount of research to provide a credible backdrop for the action, and that's before you get to the really hard part  creating believable characters and telling a gripping story.
Spy for the Queen of Scots begins well enough. A brief prologue shows us Mary on the day of her execution in England in 1587, but before the axe falls we're transported to the French court 29 years earlier. The story's narrator is Ginette, aka Jenny, a young French girl who is one of Mary's ladies-in-waiting, and through her eyes we see a sparky teenage Mary enjoying life while she waits to be married off to Francis, sickly son of the French king, Henri.
The focus on this early period puts the novel firmly in young adult territory, and its target audience will enjoy the detail of court ritual, the fabulous clothes and jewellery, and the ups and downs of Jenny's tempestuous relationship with the mysterious Scottish noble Duncan Alexander. There are dangers and dilemmas, plots and poisonings, and Jenny soon finds herself becoming the spy of the title  and wondering if she can trust anyone, even hunky Duncan.
Theresa Breslin is firmly in the camp of those who see Mary as more sinned against than sinning, and she has done plenty of research. The trouble is it's all there on the page, usually in chunks of undigested exposition. Jenny is the viewpoint character, but we often lose sight of her as other characters explain events to all and sundry at great length. The tone wobbles, with characters sometimes sounding Shakespearean, sometimes almost contemporary, and there's no sense that Jenny's actions are vital to her development.
I was also surprised that the novel ends  except for a brief continuation of the execution scene from the prologue and an epilogue rounding off Jenny's story  at the point where Mary flees to England for sanctuary after being deposed in Scotland. Mary's story falls naturally into three acts, and without the last one  her long imprisonment in England at the mercy of Elizabeth  readers who don't have the benefit of any historical knowledge might be confused about why she was finally beheaded. That also lets Gloriana off the hook  but then, Elizabeth Tudor was always better at managing her career than poor Mary.
Tony Bradman's Viking Boy will be published by Walker Books in September.