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 amidst the splendor, pageantry, squalor, and intrigue of sixteenth-century Europe.
The history of Mary Tudor is an improbable blend of triumph, humiliation, heartbreak, and devotion-and Ms. Erickson recounts it all against the turbulent background of European politics, war, and religious strife of the mid-1500s. The result is a rare portrait of the times and of a woman elevated to unprecedented power in a world ruled and defined by men.
"A book of considerable literary distinction. The result of [Erickson's research] commands belief as well as respect."
John Kenyon, The Washington Post Book World
"Carolly Erickson has written a historical biography of rare distinction, impressive both as a portrait of the less celebrated of Henry VIII's daughters and in its depiction of the turbulent age in which she lived."
Peter Stansky, Stanford University
"Carolly Erickson has re-created it all so vividly...A dazzling achievement. She has fleshed out the indistinct shade of Mary Tudor so that we perceive her as a living, breathing human being."
