Rizzio: Darkland Tales (Paperback)

Our summary description

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Rizzio: Darkland Tales offers a bold reimagining of one of the most notorious moments in Scottish history. As part of the Darkland Tales series, the novel invites contemporary writers to revisit myth, legend and recorded events with fresh eyes and sharper questions.

Here, Denise Mina turns to the brutal murder of David Rizzio, killed in the private chambers of Mary, Queen of Scots at Holyrood Palace. Mina strips away the pageantry of history to expose a world driven by desire, fear and ambition.

This is a tense and intimate retelling that places power and vulnerability side by side. Sex, secrecy and betrayal shape every choice, as personal longing collides with political survival. Rizzio examines how stories are formed, distorted and weaponised, revealing how the past continues to echo in modern struggles for control, loyalty and love.