Mary I Queen of Sorrows

By Alison Weir

What it’s about?

A DESTINY REWRITTEN. A ROYAL HEART DIVIDED.

Adored only child of Henry VIII and his Queen, Katherine of Aragon, Princess Mary is raised in the golden splendour of her father’s court. But the King wants a son and heir.

With her parents’ marriage, and England, in crisis, Mary’s perfect world begins to fall apart. Exiled from the court and her beloved mother, she seeks solace in her faith, praying for her father to bring her home.

But when the King does promise to restore her to favour, his love comes with a condition.
The choice Mary faces will haunt her for years to come – in her allegiances, her marriage and her own fight for the crown.

Can she become the queen she was born to be?

What I think:

I really enjoyed the Six Tudor Queens series so I had high expectations for Mary’s story, and I was not disappointed.

Alison Weir is an absolute master at bringing the Tudors and their world to life. She allows the reader to imagine them as real people rather than historical names, dates and bullet points.

Mary’s story takes her on a remarkable journey through some of the most turbulent times.

As daughter of Henry VIII,  is adored then shunned, loved and manipulated. She is a pawn in a political and religious game that seems to be ever changing.

Weir keeps the story of a whole lifetime pacy – focusing on key moments that move the story along but in such a way that the reader can empathise with Mary at the different stages in her life.

Mary grows up seeing her parents’ marriage crumble as Henry’s desire for a male heir and his love of ‘the Witch, Anne Boleyn grows. She is strong-willed and passionately loyal to her mother, refusing to acknowledge Anne as Queen and Elizabeth as a princess. Despite this she is caring and loves Elizabeth as a sister.

Mary’s love of children is juxtaposed with her own heartbreak as she is desperate for children of her own. 

My sympathy for Mary did begin to wane as her reign as Queen begins. The stubbornness which gave her such strength in her younger years, becomes a zealousness that leads to misery, isolation and her reputation as ‘Bloody Mary’.

Of all the Tudors, Mary has always been the less appealing sandwiched between the dominant, more glamorous figures of Henry and Elizabeth. I found this book a fascinating exploration of a complex woman.

As always with Weir’s novels, the hardback edition is gorgeous and the author’s note and reading guide are just as interesting as the story itself.

About the author:

Alison Weir is a bestselling historical novelist of Tudor fiction, and the leading female historian in the United Kingdom. She has published more than thirty books, including many leading works of non-fiction, and has sold over three million copies worldwide.

Her novels include the Tudor Rose trilogy, which spans three generations of history’s most iconic family – the Tudors, and the highly acclaimed Six Tudor Queens series about the wives of Henry VIII, all of which were Sunday Times bestsellers.

Alison is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an honorary life patron of Historic
Royal Palaces

Thank you to Alison Weir and Headline for my gorgeous copy of the book, and to Anne at Random Things Tours for inviting me to be a part of this fantastic blog tour.