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sambqt's review
5.0
Loved it. Although it is a fiction based on true characters and events, there are a lot of interesting historical details. Since discovering Mary Tudor Brandon is possibly my 14th great-grandmother, I've been particularly interested in the Tudor family, particularly Mary.
julied1's review against another edition
5.0
A really well written account of the life of Mary, daughter of a king, sister of a king and wife of another. I knew a little about her before this book but really liked the way her story was interleaved with true history.
lisamshardlow's review
4.0
I didn't really know much about Mary Tudor (Henry VIII's younger sister) before reading this and it seems she was a very courageous young woman. I always enjoy Tony Riches' writing style and how he makes the characters likeable. Some parts I felt were a little bit slow, otherwise I would have given it 5 stars, but I did really enjoy it.
bookswritingandmore's review
4.0
The history of the Tudors has always fascinated me. I love reading about the scandal and history of each member of the Tudor Dynasty. This is my first book into Mary, the kings sister. I was happy to learn that a few stories told were ones I didn't know about. In fact, I knew surprisingly little about the Tudor princess Mary.
This book reads fast and I finished it in one night. It held my attention throughout. It was obvious the research that went in to the story by the author was meticulously researched. I'm excited to continue with this series.
This book reads fast and I finished it in one night. It held my attention throughout. It was obvious the research that went in to the story by the author was meticulously researched. I'm excited to continue with this series.
helenephoebe's review
4.0
Review - Thanks to Tony Riches for sending me a complimentary copy of this, the first book in the Tudor trilogy. I really cannot wait to read the other two in this series, because I really enjoyed this one. Mary isn't a character I'd read much about, so it was really interesting to see a possibility of her relationship with Suffolk and with her children. I also liked to see Mary and Brandon's relationship with Brandon's daughters from his first marriage. It was really well written and you could tell that Riches had done his research into Mary's life.
Genre? - Historical
Characters? - Mary Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk / Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk / Louis XII of France / Henry VIII / Francis I of France / Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor / Henry VII / Katherine of Aragon / Anne Boleyn
Setting? - London & Westhorpe (England) and Calais & Paris (France)
Series? - Brandon Trilogy #1
Recommend? – Yes
Rating - 18/20
For full review see my blog at https://bookbloggerish.wordpress.com/2019/12/07/book-review-mary-tudor-princess-by-tony-riches/
Genre? - Historical
Characters? - Mary Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk / Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk / Louis XII of France / Henry VIII / Francis I of France / Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor / Henry VII / Katherine of Aragon / Anne Boleyn
Setting? - London & Westhorpe (England) and Calais & Paris (France)
Series? - Brandon Trilogy #1
Recommend? – Yes
Rating - 18/20
For full review see my blog at https://bookbloggerish.wordpress.com/2019/12/07/book-review-mary-tudor-princess-by-tony-riches/
halkid2's review
3.0
While admittedly I am obsessed with all things Tudor, I still feel I can still distinguish between fabulous history fiction and those novels that are just so-so. This one falls under the so-so category.
It's NOT bad. It simply moves predictably through the relatively short life of Mary Tudor (1496-1533) without much emotion, depth, or creativity.
NOTE: This is NOT Mary Tudor (1516-1558), elder daughter of King Henry VIII, who becomes Queen Mary I of England, marries Phillip II of Spain, and is known in history as "Bloody Mary.")
This Mary is the younger daughter of Tudor dynasty founder, King Henry VII. As a child, she dutifully acquiesces to being a pawn in the political marriages arranged by the more powerful males in her family. All the while harboring a passion for Charles Brandon, close friend of Mary's infamous brother, King Henry VIII. We eventually follow Mary's entourage to France when she weds the much-older King Louis XII. A few months later, she is widowed and makes her big power play. She weds Brandon without first getting her brother's permission.
And what follows is the more mundane "rest of her life." Some financial problems, a few children (Mary was grandmother to the ill-fated Lady Jane Grey), a marriage with ups and downs, and late in the book, an outsider's perspective on King Henry VIII's Great Matter -- his divorce from Catherine of Aragon and subsequent marriage to Anne Boleyn.
One of the things I like best about reading historical fiction is when an author is able to imagine and realistically speculate what might have been going on inside the mind of an historical figure. Applying all we know about human nature so that the characters feel real. But there wasn't much of that in this book. Instead, the author relied too much on research and incorporating a lot of detail about events. Too much for my taste.
To me this was a missed opportunity. Because there's a lot of drama to work with in Mary's story:
• What was it like to be the youngest surviving child in the first Tudor family?
• How did it feel to be a political pawn in the European marriage game?
• Was it difficult to become the wife of a country squire after living as a Princess of England and Queen of France?
You'll find no answers in this novel. But, if you, like me, can never seem to get enough of the Tudors, you may enjoy this read anyway.
This is the first book in a 3-novel series by Tony Riches. And I WILL now move onto the second installment, Brandon Tudor Knight.
It's NOT bad. It simply moves predictably through the relatively short life of Mary Tudor (1496-1533) without much emotion, depth, or creativity.
NOTE: This is NOT Mary Tudor (1516-1558), elder daughter of King Henry VIII, who becomes Queen Mary I of England, marries Phillip II of Spain, and is known in history as "Bloody Mary.")
This Mary is the younger daughter of Tudor dynasty founder, King Henry VII. As a child, she dutifully acquiesces to being a pawn in the political marriages arranged by the more powerful males in her family. All the while harboring a passion for Charles Brandon, close friend of Mary's infamous brother, King Henry VIII. We eventually follow Mary's entourage to France when she weds the much-older King Louis XII. A few months later, she is widowed and makes her big power play. She weds Brandon without first getting her brother's permission.
And what follows is the more mundane "rest of her life." Some financial problems, a few children (Mary was grandmother to the ill-fated Lady Jane Grey), a marriage with ups and downs, and late in the book, an outsider's perspective on King Henry VIII's Great Matter -- his divorce from Catherine of Aragon and subsequent marriage to Anne Boleyn.
One of the things I like best about reading historical fiction is when an author is able to imagine and realistically speculate what might have been going on inside the mind of an historical figure. Applying all we know about human nature so that the characters feel real. But there wasn't much of that in this book. Instead, the author relied too much on research and incorporating a lot of detail about events. Too much for my taste.
To me this was a missed opportunity. Because there's a lot of drama to work with in Mary's story:
• What was it like to be the youngest surviving child in the first Tudor family?
• How did it feel to be a political pawn in the European marriage game?
• Was it difficult to become the wife of a country squire after living as a Princess of England and Queen of France?
You'll find no answers in this novel. But, if you, like me, can never seem to get enough of the Tudors, you may enjoy this read anyway.
This is the first book in a 3-novel series by Tony Riches. And I WILL now move onto the second installment, Brandon Tudor Knight.