This biography of Mary Tudor reads almost like a novel and with a life as dramatic as Mary Tudor's, it makes for easy reading. The author is clearly sympathetic to Mary and her circumstances, and I appreciate that stance in a biographer. I do wish more had been included about Mary's governance, her approach to politics, the extent of her religious transformation, and analysis of her foreign policy. The glimpses of these aspects are intriguing - Mary sometimes stood her ground in the face of opposition from her councilors, her husband, and even the Pope toward the end of her reign - I would love to read more about her motivations in these circumstances, as clearly she was more powerful and more adept than one may otherwise be led to think. Overall, this was a good biography of a queen often overlooked in favor of her more glamorous sister, but certainly one worth learning more about. ( )

Anna Whitelock's biography of Mary Tudor is a good political narrative of her life and career. In it, she makes a convincing case that Mary was a far more successful queen than she has traditionally been given credit for, and that she redefined the English monarchy in her five years on the throne. Her book's primary weakness is the fleeting treatment she gives to the non-political aspects of Mary's life, with only passing references to other aspects of her personality. Readers seeking a more comprehensive treatment of Mary's life might want to turn to Linda Porter's recent biography of the queen, yet for anyone seeking to understand Mary's reign this is an excellent place to begin. ( )

This was not a bad book. It is certainly well written, and easy to read. It just did not have much new information for me. I do have an extensive Tudor history library, so I need something meatier than this book. I do think this one is perfect for someone just beginning their ownTudor journey. ( )

Different view - perhaps the most sympathitic of the first Queen of England, Mary. Was disappointed with the lack of a variety of sources, Whitelock seemed to concentrate on just a few and many from outside of England. ( )

A reasonable if somewhat dry biography of Mary Tudor.

Quite easy to read, but didn't contain much information that was new to me. But maybe that's because I'd already read a few books on the Tudors.

The most interesting part for me was actually the details on Mary's mother, Katheryn of Aragon. I felt that the author managed to convey her feelings and personality. By contrast, the depiction of Mary seemed a bit two-dimensional.

It's interesting to see how Mary is more a product of her mother than of her father. It seems that her mother had a strong influence on her.

The book tries to put a positive spin on Mary, and in particular tries to play down the burnings. It says things like "she didn't really mean to burn so many", but come on - she burned almost 300 people alive - that's not something you do accidentally is it? I still think she deserves the "Bloody Mary" title myself. ( )