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Mary Tudor: The White Queen

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Except for her one act of defiance in marrying Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, against her brother's will, Mary Tudor, younger sister of Henry VIII, has been overshadowed by the more flamboyant members of her family. In this first major biography, Mary emerges as a striking personality in her own right, exhibiting as much Tudor obstinacy and ruthlessness within her orbit as her brother did in his.

Mary's long betrothal to Prince Charles, of Castile was terminated by Henry VIII, who, betrayed by Spain and the Pope in a war to check France, retaliated by making a separate peace treaty with France in which Mary's marriage to the aged Louis XII was stipulated. When Louis died less than three months after the wedding, Mary, fearing that her brother or Francis I would force her into another political marriage, persuaded Charles Brandon, Henry's life long friend to marry her secretly. After finally obtaining Henry's forgiveness, the couple returned to England, where Mary lived until her death in 1533.

Mary's life is an engrossing story, and Professor Richardson places it dramatically against a background of momentous historical change. His account is based on numerous contemporary documents and reflects his broad and sympathetic knowledge of early Tudor England and Renaissance politics. Especially fascinating is the picture that emerges of Henry VIII and his advisor, Cardinal Wolsey, who with increasing finesse and cunning, planned marriage alliances to further English ambitionjs, pitting themselves against such masters of diplomatic intrigue as Louis XII and Francis I of France; Maximilian, the Holy Roman Emperor; and his daughter, Margaret of Austria.