Mary Tudor

Description

Mary Tudor was the first female English sovereign - a ruling queen who was not simply the consort of the king. Yet little is known about this complex woman, whose reputation for ruthlessness belied her emotional fragility and who, like her half-sister Elizabeth, had to survive from childhood in the turbulent Tudor court. David Loades explores the twisting path whereby Princess Mary, daughter of a rejected wife, Catherine of Aragon, and a capricious father - Henry VIII - endured disfavour, personal crisis and house arrest to emerge as Queen of England with huge popular support. The high promise of her reign contrasts with the personal tragedies and disappointments that followed, from the Smithfield burnings and the loss of Calais to her doomed, loveless marriage to Philip of Spain. Loades' probing yet sympathetic account reveals an intriguing personality, impelled by deep-set beliefs and principles yet uncertain how to behave in a 'man's' role. Includes 59 Illustraions (14 in colour)

Reviews

David Loades is one of our finest Tudor historians' ALISON WEIR. 'Neither Starkey nor Weir has the assurance and command of Loades' SIMON HEFFER, LITERARY REVIEW

Author description

David Loades is Emeritus Professor of the University of Wales and Honorary Member of the History Faculty of the University of Oxford. He has written sixteen books on the Tudors including: The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, The Tudor Queens of England, Mary Tudor: A Life, The Chronicle of the Tudor Kings, The Chronicle of the Tudor Queens, The Reign of Mary Tudor, The Fighting Tudors, The Making of the Tudor Navy, The Tudor Queens, The Tudors for Dummies, The Cecils: Privilege & Power Behind the Throne, Intrigue and Treason: The Tudor Court, 1547-1558, Tudor Government, Henry VIII King & Court, and Henry VIII: Court, Church & Conflict. He is currently writing a new biography of Catherine Howard, also for Amberley. He lives in Burford in Oxfordshire.