The book by Kondraty Birkin (P.P. Karataev), an almost forgotten Russian writer, offers readers a rare opportunity to feel the atmosphere of palace secrets, intrigues and scandals in Russia, England, Italy, France and other states in the period of the 16th–18th centuries. Posterity has not yet pronounced its decisive verdict on the memory of Mary Stuart, because the number of those accusing and justifying is the same, and the painful death of the defendant, insults, insults, slander and nineteen years of imprisonment are too respectful, mitigating circumstances not to take them into account. Mary Stuart can be called before the court of history “left in suspicion,” until the chance discovery of some still unknown documents illuminates the identity of the last Scottish queen with the light of truth, if not completely darkens her memory.