The Passionate Tudor by Alison Weir

June 22, 2024

The Passionate Tudor by Alison Weir

Mary I, aka Bloody Mary, was the oldest surviving child of Henry VIII and had a happy childhood until her tenth year, when her father became obsessed simultaneously with the need for a male heir and Anne Boleyn. Her life pretty much went downhill from there, as she was first named Henry's heir, then was declared illegitimate, then was reinstated after her brother, then was persecuted for her Catholic faith, finally becoming queen. She inherited her suspicious nature from her father, looking for conspiracies around her, suspecting the motives of her suitors, and even believing that her half-sister Elizabeth was not Henry's child. After she became queen, her two obsessions were restoring Catholicism as the state religion and her husband, Phillip of Spain. She wanted a child so desperately that she suffered two phantom pregnancies. Overall, she lived a sad and lonely life, dying at age 42.

Although Henry VIII was obsessed with the idea that he had to have a son to rule after him and to carry on his dynasty, his councillors didn't agree with him. They felt Mary was intelligent and well-educated, and also that she would undoubtedly marry and her husband would rule with her. Mary wasn't a great ruler or even a good ruler, but what made her memorable was the 300+ Protestants that she burned. Ironically, Mary's attempt to stamp out Protestantism by executing its followers only convinced many of her subjects that Protestantism was a faith worth dying for. Modern historians have tried to improve Mary's reputation and legacy, but there is not much that you can say about Mary that is positive and Weir's well-research book doesn't try to sugar coat Mary's actions. Recommended for readers of historical fiction and those interested in the Tudor period.

Mary I, aka Bloody Mary - she looks kind of like Gerald Ford