Martyr is a historical fictional book about one of Scotland's most iconic monarchs. It is an emotional story about civil war, betrayal, struggles for power and romance. As a history student from Stirling, Gary Maclachlan specialised in the medieval period of British History and the reign of the Stuarts. The story is a version inspired by contemporary sources of evidence, letters, witness accounts and the works of other authors who specialised in the period.The sixteenth century was a period of religious turmoil in Scotland and England before the countries became united. The Protestant Reformation saw Scotland transition from Catholicism under leadership of the Scottish ministor, John Knox. Mary Stuart returned to Scotland as a Catholic ruler after growing up in the luxurious French court. The drastic change of political leadership would bring challenge to her reign, as Regent Moray struggles to accept his loss of power. He will do all he can to make his sisters reign difficult through deception and plots of betrayal. A series of disastrous marriages, civil war and suspicious circumstances would lead to Mary being deposed and imprisoned in Scotland. She eventually fled to England to seek help from her cousin and rival, Queen Elizabeth I, only to be remanded in custody for the Catholic threat she posed. An uprising intended to place Mary on the English throne would see her taking her place on the scaffold as a martyr.