I really enjoyed this. Its about a period of history about which I knew very little. There was an excellent sense of period and was obviously well researched. I will definitely recommend.

Lady Mary by Lucy Worsley

Mary is just a child when her father and mother separate. But this is no normal family break up – Mary’s mother is Catherine of Aragon and her father is Henry VIII. After years of marriage Henry wants Anne Boleyn and there is nothing he won’t do to win her, even if that means declaring his daughter Mary illegitimate and sending her off to Hatfield where she must serve as a maid to her new little half-sister Elizabeth. Removed from her mother, friends and possessions, Mary suffers everyday due to her resolution that she will never wait on Elizabeth, she will never deny her own title of Princess and she will never betray her mother who remains, in her eyes, Queen of England. There is little comfort for Mary as she grows to adulthood alone, frightened and uncared for. But Mary has the knack of finding friends in the most unlikely of places.

Lady Mary tells the story of Mary from when she is 9 years old, and happy, until she is a young woman of 21. During these years Mary is transformed, first by the appearance of Anne Boleyn in their lives and secondly by the King’s marriage to Jane Seymour. This is the story of Mary’s trials as a princess and royal figure but it is also, and more importantly, the tale of Mary’s suffering as a young person missing her parents and not quite understanding what is happening. She looks for friendship and sometimes finds it but she must also learn about dishonesty and betrayal.

This is a children’s book and I think, just like the earlier Eliza Rose, it will greatly appeal and hopefully spark an interest in this most fascinating and colourful of periods. As an older reader, there were certain parts of Lady Mary that I really enjoyed. I did like the depiction of life at Hatfield. It’s all very visual and full of little details, all reflecting Lucy Worsley’s knowledge as a curator of the royal palaces. There is also something very appealing about this portrayal of Mary. It’s so easy to warm to her and I didn’t want to put the novel down, I was so caught up in her story.

However, my biggest issue with the novel was also in this portrayal of Mary. Her religious fervour is removed and so, although I could believe in her gentleness and kindness as presented here, as a whole this depiction didn’t ring true for me. We’re given little glimpses of a possible romance, alongside quite upsetting scenes showing her brutal treatment as a prisoner, but, although she ages by over ten years through the book, her voice doesn’t change. It’s hard with hindsight to escape Mary’s legacy, that of Bloody Mary, but there isn’t a sign of any of that Catholic belief that dominated her life.

Henry VIII is equally unbelievable, in my opinion. He comes across as a bit of a fool. Some of the other characterisation isn’t subtle – Anne Boleyn is a horrifying ogress while Thomas Cromwell is as slimey as he is dangerous. Jane Seymour, by contrast, is a gentle angel. I did, though, really enjoy the scenes between Jane and Mary, and what they show about life at court. I did question the point at which the novel ended – with the birth of Edward VI. I would have loved it to have finished with Mary’s destiny – her accession to the throne.

Depth is missing from Lady Mary but in its place is an accessible and pleasing introduction to the Tudor court for young readers, and I found it much more successful than its predecessor My Name is Victoria. I certainly found Lady Mary very hard to put down, enjoying its Tudor richness and colour.

Other reviews
Eliza Rose
My Name is Victoria

Lady Mary is the story of Mary Tudor. She gives her perspective of her parents separation and eventual divorce. We follow Mary as she is moved from house to house at Anne Boleyn's command. We see her rise and then her fall and what becomes of Mary.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it to Tudor fans.

Lady Mary is told from the point of view of a young Princess Mary, first daughter of Henry the 8th.

It covers the events between the ages of nine and twenty one years old in Mary's life, including her father concluding that his marriage to Catherine of Aragon was invalid which allowed him to divorce and marry Anne Bolyen. At this point Anne has Henry's ear and has Mary removed from court and banished to be a servant to her new sister Elizabeth. Mary, taught by her mother to be strong, refuses to acknowledge her sister and renounce her title and therefore becomes a prisoner in her new surroundings.

Whilst it's an interesting piece of history and I now know more about Mary's childhood, the story is rather dull. Not sure if that is the circumstances with the period of history being depicted, as the dialogue was so stilted and lacking. Some of the descriptions of the places seemed cliche.

Being aimed at teens I expected more feelings to be included, as they may empathise with Mary's situation being cast aside for a fathers new wife and child.

I received this book from netgalley in return for a honest review.

I’m not normally a huge fan of Tudor historical fiction- partly because in a general sense I know the Tudor period quite well. I live near Hampton Court and went to school at a place called Nonsuch ( so named by Elizabeth I) and learned about the Tudors at school. On the other hand, I dislike this period of history because of all the names. I get so confused with them all.

So Lady Mary was a real breath of fresh air because it was written for children. It was simply told. It was an aspect of Tudor history I had never considered before. Lucy Worsley says in the post script that Mary Tudor (aka Bloody Mary) has been unfairly and biasedly portrayed by anti- Catholic sentiment. Actually I believe this to be true. Mary, in her rule, is responsible for many Protestant deaths, but no more than Catholics condemned to death under her father’s rule. I hadn’t perceived it that way- more that Elizabeth was prettier and wore better dresses! I certainly never felt particularly sorry for her!

This story in this book though, happens before Mary’s reign and starts with Mary as a nine year old, when Henry is starting to sniff around Anne Boleyn. The story ends just after Edward’s birth. It was well told and although written for children, is an interesting and informative read for adults too- well this adult anyway!

I really enjoyed this book.It is supposed to be for a much younger audience than me but don't let that put you off.It is really refreshing to read a new book about King Henry the 8th from a different point if view. Mary comes across as a feisty young woman but one who understands the politics of court life. I would recommend this book to anyone who us interested in the Tudors or for someone new to historical fiction.

Mary Tudor made a mistake at birth, she was a girl, and that determined the kind of life she was going to lead with a father like Henry VIII and a mother like Catherine of Aragon. It was not easy to be the daughter of these two greats. On the one hand, her father had a highly selfish vision of life, which did not prevent him from being a great political strategist. On the other hand her mother, Spanish to the core and daughter of the greatest woman of his time as was Isabel I of Castile. All that weighed on Mary's blood.

As a child Mary noticed great indifference on the part of her father, although she herself denied that such a thing was true, as a measure of self-protection. Her mother was always by her side and certainly loved her and covered her need for affection, but she always prioritized her duties as queen, wife, (Catholic) Christian and educator. In that order. SHe instilled in Mary a strong sense of honor, virtue and dignity, she told her that a daughter of Spain never cried, that she stood firm in the face of adversity. It was probably the same lessons that Isabel of Castile gave her children, and we all know that the Spanish women are as strong or as weak as any other women. But it is important that these notions that Catherine gave her daughter got into her mind, because those were the lessons that helped young Mary survive the adversities, the negligence of her father and the cruelty of Ana Bolena towards her..

Lucy Worsley is a famous English historian. Her work as an academic is less known to the general public but her role as a communicator is priceless. Her documentaries for the BBC are more than recommended. On this occasion she narrates the years between the time when Henry VIII repudiates Catherine of Aragon and the moments after the death of Jane Seymour, Henry's third wife, who finally gave him a son, Edward, and died in childbirth (Divorced, beheaded, deceased…).

But Lucy Worsley does not tell the story, event after event, as if it were a textbook. Worsley focuses her book on Mary, what life meant for her after the separation from her parents, how her mother clung to her faith while preparing her revenge, how Henry separated mother and daughter under the influence of Anne Boleyn, how the lady Boleyn tried to reduce Mary from princess to servant of her own daughter Elizabeth, a baby of months. How Mary rebelled against her stepmother and thus Anne had her locked in an attic denying her more sustenance than a jug of water a day. And still Mary survived. And not only she survived the Anne’s schemes but also the betrayals and deceptions that she suffered from the right hand of the King Thomas Cromwell, a great political strategist who, nevertheless could not defeat Mary.

The book goes further, after the fall of Anne, Mary’s father call her’s to court. There she finds a second mother in Jane Seymour, the third queen, but soon loses her when she gives birth to Edward VI.

That is the story of Mary, who grows from preadolescent to young woman thanks (in want of a better word) to blows and injustices done to her, because with her parents in tug-of-war, their minds set on a kind of real-life chess; Mary was no more that a pawn without color, a marionette that they threw at each other but who also learned, grew, matured and who was constantly aware of what was happening around her. Even in moments when she was about to die of starvation, Mary watched and learned.

Mary I was known as " Bloody Mary" for the persecution she exercised over the Protestants after the restoration she carried out of the Catholic faith. However, according to Worsley, this treatment of her figure given by later historians is unfair. For all the lessons learned from her mother and everything she learned during her father's reign, Mary was a great queen. She did nothing that other kings did not do before or after her (for example, Henry had crushed Catholic rebellions and Elizabeth persecuted the Catholics and reinstated the Anglican faith). But the greatness of her sister Elizabeth and the power she retained eclipsed to some extent Mary's reign. However, again according to Worsley, it is more than possible that Elizabeth learned to be queen from her sister's example.

The book is aimed at a young audience, however anyone can read it because it does not use a condescending speechs as is usual in historical fictionalized books written for young people. What I found somewhat disconcerting is that it is written as if Worsley had transcribed a script for one of her impressive documentaries. It took me a long time to get into the story, but I persisted and in the end it was very interesting. I'm also convinced that if Lucy Worsley had read the book aloud or had told me the story herself I would have enjoyed it much more.

What sold this book to me was a quote from the Times; "Wolf Hall for the Skins generation” - I found this quite funny after reading this book, because it feels like whoever wrote this never watched Skins before, because this book is nowhere close to this description.
I did enjoy this book. I love reading historical fiction, and I love stories about King Henry VIII. It was very interesting reading a book with Mary's point of view, specially when you know what she was like historically.
Though reading from her point of view made me quite sad. This book is history through a child/teenagers eyes, and it's just sad to think that is what she actually went through. I don't know how much of this book is historically correct, but it shows the possibility of what point of view Mary might had as a child looks like.

I really enjoyed Victoria, and Lady Mary is just as good. I don't know a lot about the English monarchs, but these books make them really come alive and I can understand them and what they fought for. This would tie in really well to a history lesson, or for anyone reading The Prince and the Pauper for that matter!

A fantastic read, I enjoyed it very much.

Receiving an ARC did not affect my review in any way.

Okay so maybe Mary wasn’t so bad after all; you’ll believe me when you read this. Even if you weren’t familiar with how many lives Mary’s reign might have destroyed with her seemingly aggressive approach, you’ll definitely be familiar with the theory, and certainly those surrounding Henry VIII and his many wives!

What’s interesting about this story though, alongside that perfect blend of fact and fiction, is the relationships between key players during this time and how these relationships may have shaped Mary, and perhaps even her successors, to become the vengeful ruler she was alleged to be. True or not, it’s definitely some fun food for thought and it’s fun to imagine these well known figures interacting with each other more personally than a non-fiction book or documentary could capture.

I hadn’t even considered much of what is included in this book and the creativity with the storyline, whilst still holding true to things historians know to have happened, really made me question if Mary was just misunderstood, or maybe if I just understand the method behind her madness now!

I loved Mary and her relationship with her mother most of all. This book perfectly captures the bond between mother and daughter, but also the allies we often find in our parents, and this really made the characters shine for me.

An interesting book, with a slightly slow pace, but a really compelling character in Mary.

We see Mary go through a lot from the divorce of her parents, to her banishment from court by Anne Boleyn and reconnecting with the King when he marries Jane Seymour. Due to the nature of what happened to Mary, she spent a lot of time by herself away from the action of the court. This made the book a bit slow in places and not a lot happened.

Something that really came across in this book was Mary's strength and determination. She was determined to stick by what she believed in and she showed great strength with the lengths that she went to. I think the story really highlighted how difficult it must have been for her at the time. So many books follow Katharine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn during this time so this is unique as I haven't seen anything that focuses on a young Mary.

I always like Lucy's books as although they are works of fiction you can tell that a lot of research goes into them and the story feels as if it could be real. I really liked this interpretation of events. I am hoping that Lucy will write more books like this as I really enjoy them.

Another 'female perspective' for younger readers. Tudor history brought home to teenagers.

I've read and loved all of Lucy Worsley's other YA/children's books, she has a knack, a little like Jacqueline Wilson, for bringing out the voice - the desires, the frustrations, the idiosyncrasies - of real historical figures in their youth and breathing life into them for contemporary readers.

Worlsey returns to the Tudors, this time heading straight for the controversial Queen Mary, when she was a girl. Readers will be fascinated by the story of her separated parents, the second wife of the King, her mother's political striving and struggles. And Mary's own demotion from royalty as punishment for not accepting the situation. The spirit she shows here, while we may not have proof of every action, does give rise to a feeling that Mary must have acted unlike most women of her time.

Mary is born an heir, but eh tempestuous situation of her youth, such a key time in history, gives this book many tense and surprising times, as Mary is treated in ways readers will be shocked at.

With social history and details aplenty, this will be much loved by history teachers (even if it strays from truth into speculation here and there) and any young reader who likes tales set in the past.

I began re-watching 'The Tudors' while reading this, and it also inspired me to learn more about some of the figures presented within it (Cromwell, Anne Boleyn), and I love books that encourage me to consider well-known stories from perspectives I hadn't given much credence.

Lucy Worsley seems to write naturally for her readers, the style personal and flowing, without resorting to old-fashioned language but giving plenty of historical detail to bring the scenes around them to life. This was a fairly short but engaging historical read, one I'd be recommending in a school library to Years 7-9 particularly.

With thanks to Netgalley for the sample e-copy, provided for review purposes.

Lady Mary tells the story of Mary Tudor, Daughter of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon as told by TV Historian Lucy Worsley, the book itself is aimed more towards the younger teen side of young Adult but as a 30 year old, I really enjoyed this book, the Tudor period is a particular point in history that has always fascinated me so I went into this knowing with a bit of background on these characters and as you would expect with the author being a historian, it was very factual and doesn't stray from the history books. I loved reading this from the view point of Lady Mary who is sometimes lost in history for her fairly short reign that preluded the much more notorious Queen Elizabeth but Mary really does have such a fascinating story. Each chapter starts with the year and also which home or palace Mary was staying in that time, I quite liked looking them up as I was reading to help build a picture of what it was like.

As I mentioned, this is aimed towards the younger demographic but even if as an adult you just want to delve into British History a little more, this is a really enjoyable read, we're introduced to characters in this that you will likely have heard of such as Thomas Cromwell, Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn and you start to get a picture of what they were really like from the viewpoint of Mary. Also, Lady Mary was a child from a broken home so there's themes of this throughout the book as she tries to come to terms with her parents separation along with themes of religion and politics with the books showing the birth of the Church of England with King Henry VIII denouncing the Catholic Church so he could marry Anne Boleyn.

Finally, this book shows a very strong female character as the lead, who fought on even in the face of adversity, obviously sometimes this was a little extreme and historically Mary with her moniker of Bloody Mary is known as being ruthless and savage but my view point is that she was no different to any other leader in this time period, I see her as a great role model for younger girls as someone who truly believed in her self and her beliefs and wasn't swayed by people that tried to tell her she was worth less. A great read and definitely one I'd recommend for anyone interested in Lady Mary.

4 stars for this historical fiction aimed at children and young adults.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Lady Mary, Lucy Worsley's novel about the childhood and young adulthood of Mary, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. A writer has to know her history extremely well indeed to be able to narrate a story so simply and clearly - and that this is the case with Lady Mary should come as no great surprise since historian Lucy Worsley is well known in the UK as a presenter of popular BBC TV historical programmes.

Through Mary's eyes we are shown huge events in English Tudor history including the political intrigues and religious upheaval sparked by Henry's dissatisfaction with his first wife Catherine and his infatuation with Anne Boleyn. We learn how it affected Mary that her father described himself as childless because he had no male heir, and we feel with Mary how it was to be a pawn in turbulent times: that she was stripped of the title of Princess Mary when her parents' marriage was dissolved, that she was manipulated, mistreated and half-starved is all shown painfully clearly.  Mary may be hurt, lonely, and unsure what to do at times, but the writer also makes obvious her determination and dignity. Many readers' knowledge of Mary is restricted to her nickname as queen: Bloody Mary. This novel of her early years offers some nuance and balance, and it is also a really enjoyable read.

2 stars.

There's three things this book wants to make perfectly clear:

1) Anne = sl*t
2) Catherine = scorned
3) Mary = victim

And that's... pretty much it. The blurb calls it thrilling and dramatic, there's nothing thrilling about this but the drama is in abundance.

Young Mary even as a child is a whiny little brat straight out of Mean Girls. Often I found myself just wanting her to shut up, and that never changed. In theory this should have been a fascinating POV of a broadly known story, no matter your source there's not a single character of this time you haven't heard of if you're into history. That being said, the characters were more caricatures than anything else.

Catherine of Aragon was portrayed as this fierce woman who cared for nothing but her husband but he was an asshole, she was bold and loud and so damn dramatic in every scene. Anne Boleyn was written as a villain - didn't shock me at all to be honest - and Mary remained a child from start to finish obsessed and mad that everyone kept calling her Lady instead of Princess.

I only enjoyed Anne Boleyn, the more the author portrayed her as this awful woman, the more I loved her.

I really enjoy Lucy Worsley's programmes, so I was excited to try a historical novel by her, especially because I like Mary Tudor and I think her bad reputation is largely undeserved.

Unfortunately, this book did not work so well for me. First of all, it felt not very historical: the characters spoke very freely and their actions often felt too modern. The characterizations of some historical figures was disappointing as well. Catherine of Aragon was portrayed as a very proud and bold woman who mainly cared about her status, and not so much for her daughter. On one hand, I appreciated Worsley's trying to paint her more strongly and not only as a meek and devoted wife, but on the other hand she didn't convince me. Anne Boleyn was instead similar to a villain from fairytales, and, while I was expecting it, it still made me roll my eyes.
The plot was also quite slow. I liked the first and the third part, but the second part dragged a lot and I felt bored at times. I think the book could have been shorter over all.

That being said, I think Mary's characterization was quite well done. She went through a lot during the book and it was easy to sympathize with her. Her desire for a normal family, and her pain at being used as a pawn by her own parents and everyone else, felt real and understandable. I also appreciated the relationships she formed with Lady Shelton, which was unexpected but well portrayed, and Jane Seymour, another character which was remarkably well portrayed despite appearing so little.

All in all, not a satisfying read for me, but I think younger readers, and maybe readers who want to start reading historical fiction, might enjoy it more.

This book isn't my normal read, other than alternative histories like And I Darken I haven't really delved into the world of historical fiction, odd for an ex-history student! This book deals with the childhood and teenage years of Mary the first, also known as Bloody Mary. I'll confess I knew very little about 'Bloody Mary' before reading this, as most of my Tudor knowledge is Elizabeth I centred. As a result, I can't speak to the historical accuracy of this book, but I do think it was clever to make Mary the main character of this story, as it was interesting to see how her character might have been corrupted by Church history throughout the years. 

When this book first started I thought I was really going to hate Mary, she was written as quite a whiny individual, dependant on others to make decisions for her. I think that's partly because I'm not used to reading characters who are so young, particularly not in a first-person narrative. However, Mary grows into her own pretty quickly and she quickly becomes a strong-willed individual. I'm actually quite glad she started out as unlikeable (for me) as it's a fun experience for a reader to grow to love the main character. I'm reminded a little of Emma and how you have to be willing to like the character. 

What I particularly enjoyed about reading this book was the huge sense of dramatic irony you get from reading it, knowing a bit of the background to the Tudor age. It's heartbreaking to see Mary's parents divorce through her eyes, especially knowing Henry the eighth isn't even started yet, so many more women are going to end up hurt. I think this would be a great book to read if you knew absolutely nothing about this period (I don't know how much they teach the Tudors in schools outside England) but it's got a certain power to it when you do have that additional knowledge. 

This is a powerful story of the role of women (for there are more women than just Mary in this story) in a time which most people write off as being just for the men. Mary, Elizabeth and their subsequent female monarchs did huge things while in power (obviously not all of them good) and this book goes some way to showing that Mary was exceptional even before she was made Queen. 

Should you read this? If you enjoy a good bit of political intrigue and some strong-willed ladies then I would say so. As a fantasy reader, I could have done with more dragons, but maybe I'm just being picky.

My rating: 4 stars

This book comes out on April 5th 2018.

I did receive a digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Bloomsbury and Netgalley for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

The time will come for bravery…

Princess Mary has grown up with expectations on her shoulders. Daughter to two of the most powerful monarchs in Europe, Queen Catherine of Aragon and King Henry VIII of England, Mary is expected to bring marriage alliances to her family, forging connections that will help her father, and England, remain the most influential in the world. But Mary is reluctant– all she wants is for her family to stay together.

Unfortunately, Mary is only a princess, a girl, and so she’s not about to get what she wants. Instead, hoping for a male heir and apparently in love with the Lady Anne Boleyn, Henry decides to divorce the faithful Catherine of Aragon, creating a schism across England that threatens to divide families, and loyalties, forever. In the chaos, Mary’s fate is uncertain as her father tries to claim his marriage, and Mary herself, were illegitimate. Now separated from her mother, and clinging desperately to any support she can muster, Mary is forced to watch as her father remarries, and she’s sent to become a servant to her new half-sister, Princess Elizabeth. But Mary is a princess too, a rightful heir of England, and she’s prepared to fight for her recognition, no matter what the cost.

The Tudor dynasty has always been one of my favourite periods of English history to study. I covered from Edward IV to James I in my A-level classes, so I was quite eager to get my hands on a copy of this novel from Netgalley, curious to see how well the story worked when told from a YA viewpoint.

Unfortunately… it didn’t quite work for me. I’d read a veeeeerrrryyyy similar story when I was in high school, a narrative of the divorce from the perspective of Princess Mary, entitled Mary, Bloody, Mary. Lady Mary is essentially the same, with a different approach to Mary’s character, a different voice, and a glimpse at Henry’s marriage to Queen Jane thrown in for good measure.

“I am a daughter of Spain, who never feels pain.”

Beyond that, the main problem I had was with the voice itself, which came across as fairly… young. At the beginning of the novel, Mary is nine years-old, which means the childish voice makes sense. However, the book continues to follow Mary right through to her mid-twenties, meaning it starts to look less like a deliberate choice and more like an unhappy accident. It mostly came across in a lot of exposition, such as in this section:

“She heard the tentative tread of gravel behind her, and turned around with a sigh. What was it now? It was Nan’s husband, Sir John, or to give him his full name, Sir John Hussey.”

I mean, it was fun, and informative, but I really felt like there were lots of moments when readers could have been given information a lot more subtly. It got old quite fast, especially considering I knew quite a lot of the names and events going on around Mary, and I just couldn’t get into the childish language as Mary first questions something, then answers her own question. It’s not a style I’m all that keen on, and while I get that it may work for some readers, especially those unfamiliar with Tudor history, I think the language style makes it much less enticing for older YA readers. There were other examples of this peppered throughout the text too. If I had a pound for every time I read the ‘daughter of Spain, never feels pain,‘ line, I could have probably bought myself several new hardbacks. In addition to this, I wanted to cringe everytime I noticed Mary referring to Anne Boleyn as ‘the wicked lady.’ Yes, I get that she is responsible for tearing Mary’s family apart, but it just seemed like a really petty and pointless response from a character who is meant to be dignified and feisty.

Of course, there were some redeeming factors in Lady Mary too. Worsley is a history graduate, and she’s clearly done a lot of research in preparation for writing this book. It definitely comes across, and I was pleasantly surprised by all the names and settings that popped up throughout the novel. There were a few nit-picky mistakes, most likely choices made with a modern audience in mind, such as when she refers to Catherine as a ‘teenager’ [a word not used in this period, and Catherine’s blue eyes [in every painting, Catherine has brown eyes]. However, for the most part the story seemed accurate. I also really liked the portrayal of Mary and her mother, both of whom are often overlooked in the annals of history, or [in the case of Mary] vilified. Worsely seems to have really hit the nail on the head with both characters. Catherine comes across as fierce and headstrong, by turn adoring of her husband, and then calling him as weak as ‘soft curds of cheese.’ Her religious fervour is stark here, but it is also tempered by her belief that she’s sacrificing herself for her daughter, as well as her Catholicism. There’s a true sense of her betrayal here, which I thought worked very well.

“Life as a princess was rather like being a piece of fine furniture, to be admired, cooed over, then swiftly forgotten.”

You can’t help but feel for Mary throughout the novel, as she is jostled from one place to another without ever being truly in control of her destiny. She has moments of brilliant intelligence, and she does what she can in each desperate situation, but, as Lady Mary reminds us, history is rarely so kind to daughters and princesses. She comes across as very stubborn, moral and forthright, and I think it’s probably a fairly accurate representation of Mary I in her earlier years. This is also tempered by her kindness, and her capacity to do good, even if, at times this is portrayed in a very naive way, with Mary wondering if perhaps it would be quite nice to do manual labour all the time, and choosing to give an old coat to a beggar, rather than throwing it away. These seem like nice gestures, but really they reveal someone so high on the hierarchy that they can’t see the world at their feet. I guess that makes a lot of sense, considering she’s royalty, but even so, it left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.

Overall, I’d give Lady Mary a 5/10. It’s not a bad read, and for anyone studying Tudor history, it’s quite a nice way to ease yourself into the subject, but I found the writing style quite childish, and it chafed a bit too much for me.

I really enjoyed this book, it has a feel of historical drama and I am a big fan of that. I actually know a lot about this era so reading about it in this style was refreshing as it is fiction, but with historical aspects which is good because it makes me feel as though I'm reading about them as if I were privy to gossip amongst the ladies in waiting! Always thought Anne B was a bit fishy!
Sent via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I always enjoy Worsley's writing and this book is no different. It tells the story of Mary (future Mary I) during the divorce of her parents, her subsequent exile and readmittance to court. I love that it shows a story that seems to have been largely forgotten.