内容简介
She was the first woman to inherit the throneof England, a key player in one of Britain’s stormiest eras, and aleader whose unwavering faith and swift retribution earned her thenickname “Bloody Mary.” Now, in this impassioned and absorbingdebut, historian Anna Whitelock offers a modern perspective on MaryTudor and sets the record straight once and for all on one ofhistory’s most compelling and maligned rulers.
Though often overshadowed by her long-reigning sister, ElizabethI, Mary lived a life full of defiance, despair, and triumph. Bornthe daughter of the notorious King Henry VIII and the SpanishKatherine of Aragon, young Mary was a princess in every sense ofthe word—schooled in regal customs, educated by the best scholars,coveted by European royalty, and betrothed before she had reachedthe age of three. Yet in a decade’s time, in the wake of KingHenry’s break with the pope, she was declared a bastard,disinherited, and demoted from “princess” to “lady.” Ever herdeeply devout mother’s daughter, Mary refused to accept her newstatus or to recognize Henry’s new wife, Anne Boleyn, as queen. Thefallout with her father and his counselors nearly destroyed theteenage Mary, who faced imprisonment and even death.
Though often overshadowed by her long-reigning sister, ElizabethI, Mary lived a life full of defiance, despair, and triumph. Bornthe daughter of the notorious King Henry VIII and the SpanishKatherine of Aragon, young Mary was a princess in every sense ofthe word—schooled in regal customs, educated by the best scholars,coveted by European royalty, and betrothed before she had reachedthe age of three. Yet in a decade’s time, in the wake of KingHenry’s break with the pope, she was declared a bastard,disinherited, and demoted from “princess” to “lady.” Ever herdeeply devout mother’s daughter, Mary refused to accept her newstatus or to recognize Henry’s new wife, Anne Boleyn, as queen. Thefallout with her father and his counselors nearly destroyed theteenage Mary, who faced imprisonment and even death.