Mary Tudor: Courageous Queen or Bloody Mary?

I sat and absorbed Jane Buchanan's young adult biography on Mary Tudor's life in one hour.  I love all things Tudor, so I grabbed this little bio off the shelf this Spring before leaving for summer break and am so glad I can add the few new facts I gleaned to my Tudor repertoire.  

I love learning.  Especially about King Henry VIII and his six queens.  His first daughter and rightful heir to the throne had to fight to have what was hers...and once she earned the throne she didn't let anyone stop her from removing as many threats to her crown or her precious Catholicism.  Although I already knew plenty about Mary, I did learn a few more fascinating facts...She was in her 30s when she finally married her cousin, Philip of Spain.  His father was the Holy Roman Emperor and also Mary's cousin.  Although I knew about her marriage already, I had no idea she arranged it herself and had to threaten Parliament to "mind their own business".  They didn't want her marrying anyone...for fear that the man would assume the throne.  Queen Mary had two phantom pregnancies.  She suffered with female health problems all her life.  She didn't acknowledge Elizabeth as her rightful heir until she was on her death bed.  She always held hope that she'd have a child of her own.  


I like the way these little biographies (@130 pages) in the Wicked History series are published.  Lots of illustrations, photographs, primary documents, and witty writing.  I may read the bio on Henry VIII some time in the near future.


Happy summer reading!
This makes 22 for me.
RC