Mary I: England's Catholic Queen

by John Edwards

Overview

A new appraisal of the first Tudor queen, her European connections, her ambitions and intentions, and the religious violence that stained her short reign

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300194166
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	05/28/2013
Series:	The English Monarchs Series
Pages:	408
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.80(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

John Edwards is Modern Languages Faculty Research Fellow in Spanish, University of Oxford. He lives in Oxford, UK.

Editorial Reviews

Edwards has comprehensively defeated a persistent and painful historical myth and replaced it with something more complicated, more human and much more accurate. This is the best biography of Mary we have yet seen.”—Lucy Wooding, Times Higher Education

Times Higher Education - Lucy Wooding

"[T]he most comprehensive and convincing account to date."—J.H. Elliott, The New York Review of Books

The New York Review of Books - J.H. Elliott

Oxford research fellow Edwards (The Spanish Inquisition) presents new perspectives on the English Queen—known as Bloody Mary because she introduced the Inquisition into England. Daughter of King Henry VIII and Queen Catherine, the superbly educated Mary became an advocate for women's education and a promoter of women in her household, even showcasing a red uniformed female cavalry detachment at her coronation. A devout Catholic determined to reverse her father's religious and political reforms, Mary, however, could not rule in her own name. Edwards details the influence of her Spanish husband, Philip I, who, in the persecution of England's reformers, declared war on Pope Paul IV, invading his territory not once, but twice, to further Spanish interests. Mary herself came under attack from the Pope, who investigated Reginald Pole (her choice for Archbishop of Canterbury) for heresy. Edwards shows readers the evolution of Spanish policy during the Elizabethan era, and analyzes the problems faced by powerful women in a male-dominated environment. 16p b&w illus. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"[A] rewarding read . . . a fascinating tale of a complex woman."—Brother Jeffrey Gros, Catholic Missourian

Catholic Missourian - Jeffrey Gros

[T]he most comprehensive and convincing account to date.—J.H. Elliott, The New York Review of Books

— J.H. Elliott

The New York Review of Books

[A] rewarding read . . . a fascinating tale of a complex woman.—Brother Jeffrey Gros, Catholic Missourian

— Jeffrey Gros

Catholic Missourian

Having previously examined the life of Spain's illustrious Queen Isabella, Edwards (history, Univ. of Oxford; Ferdinand and Isabella) turns his erudite style and penchant for research to England's "Catholic" queen. On September 30, 1553, Mary Tudor assumed the English throne in the midst of intense social, political, and religious transformation. As the country's first accepted queen regnant and a devout Catholic, she faced immense internal and external threats to her "regime." Firmly grounded in a mountain of research, Edwards's academic treatment is a remarkable synthesis of Mary's turbulent life that moves beyond "Bloody Mary," feminist, or saintly martyr and presents a more balanced outlook on her reign and legacy. Key events and actors including Jane Grey, her marriage to Philip of Spain, religious reform, and geopolitics are surveyed with great detail and intelligence. VERDICT While lay readers will prefer biographies such as David Loades's Mary Tudor: A Life and Anna Whitelock's Mary Tudor: Princess, Bastard, Queen, Edwards has provided students of the period with an exceptional, scholarly account of England's most controversial queen.—Brian Odom, Pelham P.L., AL

Library Journal