Mary I: England's Catholic Queen

The English Monarchs

by John Edwards

The lifestory of Mary I—daughter of Henry VIII and his Spanish wife, Catherine of Aragon—is often distilled to a few dramatic episodes: her victory over the attempted coup by Lady Jane Grey, the imprisonment of her half-sister Elizabeth, the bloody burning of Protestants, her short marriage to Philip of Spain. This original and deeply researched biography paints a far more detailed portrait of Mary and offers a fresh understanding of her religious faith and policies as well as her historical significance in England and beyond.John Edwards, a leading scholar of English and Spanish history, is the first to make full use of Continental archives in this context, especially Spanish ones, to demonstrate how Mary's culture, Catholic faith, and politics were thoroughly Spanish. Edwards begins with Mary's origins, follows her as she battles her increasingly erratic father, and focuses particular attention on her notorious religious policies, some of which went horribly wrong from her point of view. The book concludes with a consideration of Mary's five-year reign and the frustrations that plagued her final years. Childless, ill, deserted by her husband, Mary died in the full knowledge that her Protestant half-sister Elizabeth would undo her religious work and, without acknowledging her sister, would reap the benefits of Mary's achievements in government.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Royalty, British Literature, Tudor Period, 16th Century

387 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Librarian's note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
This is John^^Edwards.

Historian - University of Oxford

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This academic biography is very strong on foreign affairs and Mary's relationship with the papacy, much less so on Mary the woman. Especially in the last third of the book, I thought Mary the person got lost amid all of the details of international maneuverings. Granted, I'm prejudiced, because as a novelist, it's the personal details I crave.

[Christine Hartweg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though there were plenty of stupid errors (like the confusion of minor figures, and even four times the claim that MQS was the child of Margaret Tudor & King James IV!), I really enjoyed the first part. The second got totally bogged down in church stuff and Reginald Pole, though.

[Steve Donoghue · Rating 4 out of 5]

A superb biography of a very problematic Tudor ruler! Here's my full review at Open Letters; http://www.openlettersmonthly.com/now...

[Mason Guilford · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most exceptional, thorough, and non bias biographies on Mary I of England

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

"... And so great were the cries and acclimations when they drank for the love of the Queen, as is the custom here, that it seemed as if all has escaped from this evil world, and had been transported to heavenly glory."

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exceptionally detailed story of the life and times of Mary I (eldest child of Henry VIII) - with heavy emphasis on the connections with various European countries and how they were involved in the succession following the death of Edward VI (only son of Henry VIII). I'd ideally have given this book 3.5 stars as, whilst it goes into incredible detail regarding the various characters involved, it did get a little dry and tedious in places. Recommended if you are particularly interested in how heavily Europe was involved in supporting the various candidates for the English throne and their stance on the position of religion in England following the reign of Henry VIII (and the schism from the catholic church), the very brief reign of Lady Jane Grey (protestant reformer) and the traditionally catholic Mary I.

[Sofia :) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is not recommended if you wish to read primarily about Mary. This biography is 75% not even about Mary, but other people. The book goes into far too much detail about her tutor, the day she became queen and talks about former monarchs. Though, I am okay with the book not being completely about Mary herself, it should be kept to minimum. On the bright side, John Edwards put an immense amount of detail into this book (which was overwhelming for me) but I wish he added some key points regarding her e.g. Elizabeth was accused of being in the plot against Mary to overcome the throne and even sent her the Tower of London, there was a rumour that Cromwell wanted to marry Mary. He sent her gifts as a response to her submission to the three articles she signed. This book could have been much better, and it is a shame I wasted £17 on this (including shipping).

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was very dry.

[Russell Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A more Spanish view of this English Monarch, who was indeed half Spanish herself. Much parallels this monarch with her half sister, but the imbalance of years has led her to be vilified compared to her sister. It seems the disagreements between the Catholics and Protestants of the sixteenth century continues down to the twenty-first century.