Mary I : England's Catholic Queen

by John Edwards

• ISBN13: 9780300118100
• ISBN10: 0300118104
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2011-10-18
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

The lifestory of Mary Idaughter of Henry VIII and his Spanish wife, Catherine of Aragonis 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 and deeply researched biography paints a far more detailed portrait of Mary and offers a fresh understanding of her religious faith and policies as well as her historical significance in England and beyond. John Edwards, a leading scholar of English and Spanish history, is the first to make full use of Continental archives in this context, especially Spanish ones, to demonstrate how Mary's culture, Catholic faith, and politics were thoroughly Spanish. Edwards begins with Mary's origins, follows her as she battles her increasingly erratic father, and 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 Mary's five-year reign and the frustrations that plagued her final years. Childless, ill, deserted by her husband, Mary died in the full knowledge that her Protestant half-sister Elizabeth would undo her religious work and, without acknowledging her sister, would reap the benefits of Mary's achievements in government.

Author Biography

John Edwards is Modern Languages Faculty Research Fellow in Spanish, University of Oxford. His recent books include The Spanish Inquisition, Ferdinand and Isabella, and Isabella: Catholic Queen and Madam of Spain. He lives in Oxford, UK.

Table of Contents

List Of Illustrations	p. ix
Abbrivations	p. xi
Preface And Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Sentimental education of a princess, 1516-1525	p. 1
A dysfunctional family, 1525-1536	p. 18
Mary bereaved, 1536-1547	p. 38
Struggling with the younger brother, 1547-1553	p. 64
A year of two coups, 1553	p. 87
A crown and a husband, 1553-1554	p. 123
England tries European integration, 1554	p. 159
A dual monarchy, 1554-1555	p. 200
Battle for England's soul, 1553-1558	p. 226
England threatened, 1555-1557	p. 266
The Providential Queen' released, 1558	p. 309
Regime change	p. 337
Biblography	p. 351
Index	p. 364
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