Mary I

Product Description

The lifestory of Mary I-daughter of Henry VIII & his Spanish wife, Catherine of Aragon-is often distilled to a few dramatic episodes: her victory over the attempted coup by Lady Jane Grey, the imprisonment of her half-sister Elizabeth, the bloody burning of Protestants, her short marriage to Philip of Spain. This original & deeply researched biography paints a far more detailed portrait of Mary & offers a fresh understanding of her religious faith & policies as well as her historical significance in England & beyond. John Edwards, a leading scholar of English & Spanish history, is the first to make full use of Continental archives in this context, especially Spanish ones, to demonstrate how Marys culture, Catholic faith, & politics were thoroughly Spanish. Edwards begins with Marys origins, follows her as she battles her increasingly erratic father, & focuses particular attention on her notorious religious policies, some of which went horribly wrong from her point of view. The book concludes with a consideration of Marys five-year reign & the frustrations that plagued her final years. Childless, ill, deserted by her husb&, Mary died in the full knowledge that her Protestant half-sister Elizabeth would undo her religious work &, without acknowledging her sister, would reap the benefits of Marys achievements in government.