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.

Hello, my name is Trish and I'm Tudor obsessed.  So reading Lady Mary by Lucy Worsley was a forgone conclusion for me.  And within the pages, I discovered a fascinating blend of Tudor trickery and human insight into a character that I grew to like and admire.

[book-info]

First Line of Lady Mary by Lucy Worsley

"Press a little harder with the pen, Mary."

My Thoughts on Lady Mary by Lucy Worsley

Before I read this book, my impressions of Mary were that of a vengeful queen who killed for religious reasons without qualm. After all she earned the infamous title The Bloody Queen Mary.  She is the daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, and became Queen after Lady Jane Grey was beheaded.

I knew the facts, but now I feel like I know the young woman before her assent to the throne.  This book vividly set the scene of the infamous Tudor dynasty, the luxurious palaces, the indulgent lifestyle, the hundreds of servants at the beck and call of the privileged few.  However after Henry's separation from Catherine, Mary was banished from that lavish lifestyle.

I admired her strength as she refused to deny her birth right despite physical and emotional hardships.  And I raged at the lack of respect that Henry had for her, as she was only a daughter.  He had the cheek to consider himself childless, as daughters don't count.  Of course I knew how little women counted, but being inside the head of Mary, while all this was demonstrated out to her again and again, made me sigh with indignation.

Factually, I can't fault the book.  The Tudor period is never boring to read about.  There are far too many betrayals, beheadings, acts of treason, and colourful characters to be entertained by.  Queen Mary is one of those colourful characters, and this book shades her out nicely.  I'd love if there was a follow on book, or if this was the start of a series.  As it has just whet my appetite for more Tudor treachery!

[rating-report]

Who should read Lady Mary by Lucy Worsley

I'd highly recommend this book to fans of historical fiction, especially the Tudor period.  And even more so if you want to see what teenage/new adult Lady Mary was like.  Fans of the Philippa Gregory series should enjoy, I know I found it fitted in perfectly with my reading of those books.  And if you think history is boring, then I challenge you to read this book and see if your view stays the same.

s there anything that Lucy Worsley can’t do?
She’s one of those women who, if I see that she is in any way involved, I know that I’m going to watch / read it and what’s more, I’ll love it.
This book is no different.
We have the story of King Henry Viii falling in love with Anne Boleyn, the divorce of Catherine of Aragon and how this is all seen through the eyes of Henry and Catherine’s daughter, Princess Mary.

All Mary wants is to be a family with her mother and father.
The attention to detail is as authentic as one would expect from Lucy Worsley and she does well in portraying Mary as a young woman being used as a pawn. A woman who may have been born into royalty but she still has feelings and you can’t help but root for Mary, whether you know the outcome or not.