This is the story of the childhood and adolescence of Mary Tudor, daughter of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. Meyer does an excellent job of recreating the historical setting of England in the 1500’s, describing settings and attire and many other aspects of royal and peasant life in those times. The history is so entwined in the story that the historical aspects are not conspicuous, which is enjoyable and keeps the reader feeling like they are reading an enjoyable story, not a history lecture. For example, at one point Mary describes her father. “He was dressed in close-fitting hose that showed off his muscular legs. Over these he wore red velvet trunk hose stuffed with cotton wool to form an onion shape, and slashed to display glints of silver under the velvet. His doublet of quilted black velvet was covered all over with pearls and other jewels. In my eyes, King Henry was the handsomest man in the world.” The central figures are well researched and well described. Mary and her caretaker, Countess Salisbury, are the central figures in the story. Mary’s character was true to the history that is documented of her, including her temper, her health problems, and the fact that her father would brag that “this girl never cries.” Mary cherishes her father’s pride in her, and keeps her tears secret. Mary is a complex character, at times sad and alone and fearful, and at other times brave and stubborn and proud. This is part of what makes the book so fascinating, the many facets of the character of Mary, all intertwined in the story of a girl growing up in a time dominated by the desires of a King. One recurring line through the book is “As the King wishes…” None of the characters in the book are superheroes, and all seem captured by the realities of a turbulent time in England’s history. This book was well researched. I was impressed with the detail that produced additional insight into a life that is commonly overlooked because Henry VIII and Elizabeth are somewhat more captivating. As the author points out, “While Mary has often been described as a gentle, merciful person, because of the brutality of her reign – although no more brutal that those of many European monarchs – history remembers her as Bloody Mary.” Teens may enjoy looking at typical depictions of other historical figures, and doing research to find out if they could see another side of that person. I think that teens would enjoy the aspects of history in this book, and would especially comparing and contrasting it with depictions of Mary in modern media. Other interesting activities could include looking at gender roles in those days compared to modern times, and diagramming the characters to understand how many connections the families back then had to other nobility. It could also prompt good discussion of ethics and the implications of poor rulers on the countries they are responsible for. tI spent time reflecting on what it would have been like to never be alone, with people always watching and listening, and to feel that you did not know who you could trust. The book did a great job at highlighting the precarious position Mary spent most of her life in. Although this book is full of history, it moves along quickly. I enjoyed reading about Mary, and reflecting on what caused her to become the woman she did. I enjoyed the descriptions of Elizabeth, and will probably read Beware, Princess Elizabeth, next.
Although Mary is known in history by her infamous title, “Bloody Mary”, in truth, she was not much bloodier than many others in her position (such as her father, King Henry, who beheaded two of his wives). The fact that she is a women probably plays into this sexist view of her, but Caroline Meyer gives readers a deeper insight into the young woman-turned-princess that Mary was, making us sympathize with her. We understand Mary’s struggles and realize that she was not this horrible person—rather, she has become traumatized by all the bloodshed she has witnessed and became victim of those violent practices.Another thing I really liked about this, other than the fact that Mary has been made to be sympathetic, is the (mostly) historical accuracy. I am a Tudor fanatic myself and took it upon myself to look up the real history of this story, but much of what I found is true: The Countess of Salisbury really was a good friend of Mary’s, Eustace Chapuys really did try to petition for Mary to rule the court, and several other historical figures were portrayed in what can be historically proven, and I felt like the author portrayed them in a manner that they very well could have behaved in.I found more to like about the book than to dislike, but there were a few things that stopped me from giving this five stars. This isn’t really the fault of the author, more of the role the women portrayed back then, but the women didn’t do as much as the men, especially in political affairs. One complaint that I do have that I feel is valid, however, is the portrayal of Anne Boleyn. Although we did know that she started an affair with Henry and became queen and shook up the Catholic beliefs, many portrayals I have seen of Anne seem to demonize her as a villianess sort of character with little redeemable qualities. Yes, she did bad things, but no more so than Henry, who was well-known for having affairs and killing people without question, or some others in the court greedy for the throne. I also doubt that Anne had no redeemable qualities, so pining her as a vile person gives the wrong vibe off to me—a fairly sexist point of view on Anne, in my opinion. Other than that, however, “Mary, Bloody Mary” was a really good read. Along with “Beware, Princess Elizabeth”, it was one of my favorite books in the “Young Royals” series. This book stood out to me more than the one on Elizabeth, however, because Mary has been pinned as “Bloody Mary” for so long but this book shows that Mary was not just this horrible person. She was kind but hurt, broken and committed some horrible acts, but they didn’t portray her as entirely bad or entirely good. She was human.
What do You think about Mary, Bloody Mary (2001)?
This is a really good book because It's about a royal family who went through a lot of stuff in that time of period of Mary's life. She had a lot of problems with her dad because he started growing very mean to Mary's mother the queen Catherine. What I didn't like was how the king kept giving Mary men that she didn't want to marry and when she fell in love with someone else something bad would happen to them like they would get sick with flu's or something. What I do like about this book is how her mom kept faith in her daughter Mary for her to be queen. I think this book is for people who like history and books about the past learn about Mary and why she is called Bloody Mary.
—Sabrina Williams
this book brought a very troubling new perspective on the already morally complicated tudor family. Queen Mary Tudor is remembered as "bloody mary" for sending hundreds of protestants to burn at the stake as heretics. But her reign was no more bloody as that of her fathers or his father before him, in addition her father forced her to be a servant for her half sister after being a princess her whole life. Carolyn meyer made such a one dimensionally hated character like bloody mary an incredibly sympathetic character, even so much as to make you root for the catholic queen who would burn anyone who practiced a different faith. as a person who has a soft side for the characters that are usually villains, this book gives the reader something to consider. it makes the reader think about how much history is written by the winners. an mary certainly was not the winner.
—Riley
In Mary, Bloody Mary by Carolyn Meyer the authors main idea is that power can be taken away in a blink of an eye. This book takes place in the 1500s in England when Mary Tudor is the next royal to inherit the crown of England. Mary tells the story of how in one month her father goes from loving her and she being the next queen of England to loosing the crown, the kings loving, and her privilege to communicate with her mother. Her own half-sister, daughter of the wicked woman who was believed to cast the king under her spell, rips the crown from under Mary's feet. I would give this book a six out of ten because at some points in the book it can get really descriptive. For example when Mary gets moved out of the palace, there is a page of description just about her new home. Also sometimes it was hard to keep up with the plot events. This book did tie back to actual events that happened with Mary Tudor in history and I like that a lot. I would recommend this series to a classmate because its interesting and I learned a lot. This is probably the only classical book I love!
—AyaY
