Homecoming: The Scottish years of Mary Queen of Scots.

The article reviews two historical books focused on Scotland’s heritage. Rosemary Goring’s *Homecoming: The Scottish years of Mary Queen of Scots* explores Mary Stuart’s life in Scotland through a travelogue-style narrative that links over 20 significant locations to her personal and political experiences, highlighting the challenges she faced as a female monarch in a turbulent 16th-century Scotland. David Willem’s *Black Rood: The lost crown jewel of Scotland* investigates the history of the Black Rood, a medieval reliquary containing a fragment of the True Cross, tracing its journey from 11th-century Scotland through archival evidence and comparative analysis with similar artefacts in Ireland and Wales. Both works combine historical detail with cultural context, offering insights into Scotland’s royal and religious past.