I decided to order Julianne Lee’s ‘Her Mother’s Daughter – A novel of Queen Mary Tudor’. It was mainly because I don’t have any books about Mary Tudor and decided to add the book to my collection. It was only fitting since I have a book about Elizabeth.
I’ve wondered about Mary Tudor. She always seems to have tight lip facial expression and a husky voice. She was a very devoted Catholic and I understand why they gave her the name, Blood Mary. I also sympathize with her because she couldn’t be with her mother when Queen Katherine of Aragon was dying, having a husband who didn’t really want her and not having a child of her own (which she desperately wanted). All in all, she really wanted love and to be loved in return.
In the prologue, you are introduced to a group of girls having a sleepover. One dares to say ‘Blood Mary’ several times and she would show up in the mirror then Bloody Mary would take you away. Who remembers doing this before? I remember hearing this as a kid.When nothing happens, the girls go to sleep but eventually Mary Tudor does show up in the mirror. From here, she tells her story to the sleeping girls. I wasn’t exactly expecting this in the prologue, which made me do a double take but once I finished reading the prologue, then Mary’s story truly begins.
Throughout the book, Mary’s voice is in italic while the rest of the book, it’s through the eyes of someone else whether an event happens (such as the hanging of Fisher) or an event related to Mary herself (such as Norfolk trying to make Mary sign the Act of Succession).
In the beginning, Mary Tudor was a happy child and the apple of King Henry VIII’s eye. She was even contracted to marry Emperor Charles. Even though she had authority being the Princess of Wales, many people do not recognize her authority simply because she was a girl. She experiences her first disappointment in life when Emperor Charles broke the marriage agreement. Other disappointments in life include the breakup of her parent’s marriage and unable to see Catherine of Aragon before she dies. During her father's courtship with Anne Boleyn, Mary loses King Henry VIII's love. She was so used to receiving love from him that made her just as upset as not being near her mother.
It was very hard for Mary to swallow her pride when she was ordered to attend her baby half-sister Elizabeth at Hatfield. Imagine knowing that you are a royal but no one acknowledges it. It was very frustrating for Mary to deal with and be snubbed by her royal father for three long years. Poor Mary had to live in fear of being poisoned by Queen Anne Boleyn or her minions. This is the beginning of her always looking sickly. She probably could have died and this would have made it better for King Henry VIII but as we know, God had other plans for Mary.
Mary’s disappointments would change after Anne Boleyn’s execution. In order to get back into the good graces of her father, she must sign the Act of Succession and acknowledge that the marriage between her parents was invalid. She was very strong to deny this based on her faith. I probably would crack within months but Mary was able to endure it till after the death of Anne Boleyn. Eventually she would sign after her confessor Chapuys believed that God had a plan for Mary to bring England back to the Catholic faith. I guess this would be the beginning of her mission. It was very heartwarming when Mary was given the jewels that once belonged to Catherine of Aragon, which was taken by Anne Boleyn. Plain Jane Seymour had most likely persuaded Henry VIII to return the jewels to Mary, which would be a good turn in the right direction for reconciliation. After all, reconciliation was what Mary wanted. Queen Jane Seymour seemed to be a friend to Mary trying to reconcile father and daughter.
Time in this book goes by pretty fast. Then again, Mary was telling her story to those sleeping girls from the prologue. I’m familiar with the history of the Tudors so I really don’t mind too much.
Soon the issue between the Protestant religion and the Catholic religion would occur once her brother Edward takes the throne. You come to a scene of the council and a young King Edward VI, who discuss about what to do about Mary and the Catholic faith. It truly was a rift between half siblings but Mary stood firm when it came to religion. You can say that both half siblings where overzealous about religion that they would try to change one another.
Between Edward's reign and the start of Mary's reign, you are introduced to other characters in the story. They are the common people who are in poverty and try to make a living. There are also Catholics who are watching the destruction of church and hoped for the day that Catholic Mary Tudor would ascend the throne.
Time eventually moves forward when Mary finally ascends the throne. She describes wanting to bring back the Catholic faith to England but as her advisors mention, she must do it slowly. Mary knew that she would have to marry and eventually she would be betrothed to Philip of Spain, much to the dismay of the English people. Mary's breath is taken away at the very sight of Philip's portrait. She's aware of the age difference and hopes that he would not find her too unappealing. A part of her storytelling that was missed was her speech to the common people during the Wyatt rebellion. That at least would be a highlight of her reign.
I've been also curious about Philip of Spain. In Julianne Lee's novel, it seemed that Philip was at least interested in Mary Tudor. It seemed at first it would be a harmonious marriage and possibly love (which Mary would hoped for). But the arrogant Philip of Spain would appear when he kept asking Mary when he would be king. Mary worried about acting too lustful with her husband though and considering that Philip of Spain was known to have other lovers, he would eventually be disappointed. Whatever she did, she looked to religion to make sure that it was right with God. I think it was a little too much especially when she continued the burnings (despite her council's advice). She should have listened to her council's advice about ending the burnings.
I felt so sorry for Mary during her so called pregnancy. It was the start of things going wrong with her marriage. You encounter a scene where Philip of Spain is in Flanders. I don't think the scene was necessary but I guess it goes with the drama of Mary's marriage. Poor Mary to be disregarded by her husband just like when King Henry VIII disregarded Queen Katherine of Aragon. She would give anything to have Philip of Spain back to her side. He would eventually come back but only to get money to help fund the war with France. Another missing event in Mary's reign was the loss of Calais during this war. Nothing was mentioned of any Englishman fighting for Philip of Spain and the huge upset. Mary just said that she never saw her husband again and then it jumps to the death of Mary.
To me, the book was a good overview of Mary's life. Julianne Lee provided a human aspect to the life of Mary Tudor by providing the reasoning of Mary's decisions during her reign. Also, she made mistakes just like all of us common people. However, if I wanted more details then I would buy another fictional book featuring Mary Tudor.
