Bloody Mary Author:Carolln Erickson Here is the tragic, stormy life of Mary Tudor- daughter of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. Her story is a chronicle of courage and faith, betrayal and treachery- set amid the splendor, pageantry, squalor, and intrigue of 16th century Europe. — Mary Tudor was born a princess and came of age an outcast- officially designated a bastard by her ow... more »n father, but determined like her mother to receive vindication in the eyes of God, even at the cost of her life.
Her triumph when it came , would be short and tragic. She would rise to the throne as England's first anointed Queen, but she would never be able to reconcile her divided nation with the church of Rome- and her misguided suppression of Protestants would make her a symbol of tyranny for generations to come....
Her marriage, late in life to Phillip II of Spain- heir to the Hapsburg Empire, and a man she truly loved- would be an even deeper personal tragedy. She would never be able to bear him children and he would never see their marriage as anything more than an act of political expediency.
With her death the many genuine accomplishments of her reign would be wiped out forever in one bitter, ironic stroke- as her half sister Elizabeth acceded to the throne. Mary would thus give place to the daughter of her mother's arch enemy; Anne Boleyn, the hated woman who had been the first cause of all her misery.....
The history of Mary Tudor is an improbable blend of triumphs, humiliation, heartbreak, and devotion.« less