Mary Tudor: The Tragical History of the First Queen of England [Hardcover]

David Loades (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 8, 2006

Although achieving notoriety as the persecutor of Protestants, Mary I of England had to contend with great personal, religious and dynastic stress. Her mother, Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first wife, fell from grace while Mary was still young, and her own future seemed bleak. Her eventual reign and its tortuous lead-up were set against the political and religious confusion that Henry VIII bequeathed to his kingdom. Despite this, Mary established the precedents for queenly power that her 'glorious' half sister and dynastic competitor Elizabeth could later exploit. David Loades, one of the UK's leading experts on Mary, provides the full personal and political story behind the queen. Her steeliness belied an emotional fragility, and her doomed marriage to the King of Spain threatened the peace of the realm. Original documents, letters and color illustrations combine with the text to make an absorbing historical journey.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Loades is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Wales and Research Professor of History at the University of Sheffield. He is the author of many books on the Tudor period including Chronicles of the Tudor Queens, Henry VIII and his Queens, and Mary Tudor: A Life.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: The National Archives Press; 1St Edition edition (December 8, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1903365988
• ISBN-13: 978-1903365984
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #382,984 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some clarification..., May 30, 2007

By 

Tudor Fan "Tudor Fan" (Riverside, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mary Tudor: The Tragical History of the First Queen of England (Hardcover)

David Loades is an authority on Mary Tudor and a fine author. Just a point of clarification on the earlier review, however; the first reviewer confuses Mary Tudor and Mary Stuart, two very different rulers. Mary Tudor was the eldest daughter of Henry VIII and the only surviving child of Catherine of Aragon. She succeeded to the throne in 1553 after her brother Edward VI and died in 1558. She has indeed been criticized for what many consider her overzealous push to return England to Catholicism, but in her defense, she was doing what she thought was right.

On the other hand, Mary Stuart was the cousin of Elizabeth I (who was in turn the younger sister of Mary Tudor and daughter of Anne Boleyn) and was the one ultimately beheaded during Elizabeth I's reign in 1587. It should be noted that Elizabeth I herself was briefly imprisoned by Mary I (Mary Tudor) but was released unharmed.

This is a fascinating period of history and this book is a good starting point to learn more about Mary Tudor's brief and sad reign. Mary Stuart's life is also very interesting and Amazon carries several good biographies on her as well.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mary Tudor - a fresh look at a much hated Queen, November 26, 2007

By 

K. Maxwell "katmax1" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mary Tudor: The Tragical History of the First Queen of England (Hardcover)

David Loades wrote a biography of Queen Mary Tudor fifteen years ago. His earlier work has been revised and looked at afresh in this biography written for National Archives in the UK. His biography has been based primarily on original documents about Mary in the archives - and many of these have been reproduced in this publication as well. Its something that serious historical authors used to do in earlier centuries and its actually welcome to see the practice return as a way of preserving this information if the original is ever lost (and that happened quite a bit).

Loades has come to some unusal conclusions about Mary with a fresh look at her life - but I would also say that this is a very balanced assement of this woman who lived though a bitter divorce and the overthrow of all she loved in her youth. If you have an interest in Mary Tudor this book is one you should pick up.

Bloody Mary

3 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An articulate and very highly recommended work of impeccable scholarship, May 11, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mary Tudor: The Tragical History of the First Queen of England (Hardcover)

There have been many biographies of Mary Tudor, the British contender against Elizabeth I for the throne of England. History being largely written by the winners, Mary Tudor became notorious for her lethal persecution of the Protestants, her unceasing efforts to deliver Britain to the Catholics, the loss of Calais to the fledgling British empire, and her decades long struggle to gain control of Britain that was to result in years of confinement by Queen Elizabeth and her eventual death at the headsman's axe at an advanced age. In "Mary Tudor: The Tragical History of The First Queen Of England", historian David Loades (Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Wales and an Associate of the Centre for Early Modern History at the University of Oxford) fully explores the dimensions of a complex life in a time of political volatility, religious wars, male domination of government, royal marriages for political advantages, personal devoutness, and a woman who was in many ways stronger than any of the men with whom she associated in her quest for royal power and Catholic supremacy. "Mary Tudor" is an articulate and very highly recommended work of impeccable scholarship that should be a part of every academic library British History & Royal Biography reference collection and supplemental reading list.