Queen of Martyrs

The Story of Mary I

(Plantagenet Embers Book III)

by Samantha Wilcoxson.

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‘God save the Queen! God save our good Queen Mary!’

When these words rang out over England, Mary Tudor thought her troubles were over. She could put her painful past – the loss of her mother and mistreatment at the hands of her father – behind her.

With her accession to the throne, Mary set out to restore Catholicism in England and find the love of a husband that she had long desired. But the tragedies in Mary’s life were far from over. How did a gentle, pious woman become known as ‘Bloody Mary’?

Tudors Dynasty review: “It shows a strength and naivety in Mary that makes her as human as you and I.”

Historical Novel Society review: “Samantha Wilcoxson has done a fine job of revealing the motives behind Queen Mary Tudor’s rocky youth and just as stormy reign.”

Historian and Author Sharon Bennett Connolly: “The novel demonstrates the human side of Mary I, her fears, insecurities and compassion, and her innate need to be loved; by her sister, her husband and her people. It shows her as a child of the Reformation, just as much as Elizabeth I, but on the opposing side. She is a queen struggling to do the right thing by her conscience and her people.”

A Word from the Author

Queen Mary I cannot be accused of being a background character as my previous protagonists, Elizabeth of York and Margaret Pole; however, she has been overshadowed by her father and sister, and history has not treated her kindly. Posthumously given the sobriquet ‘Bloody Mary’, England’s first queen regnant might be described as the unpopular Tudor.

I wanted to change that. In researching the real Queen Mary, I discovered a woman who had been pampered as a child, abandoned as a teenager, neglected as a young woman, and betrayed by those who should have loved her most. Against all odds, she became queen, only to find that her heartbreak was not over. Mary longed for love and was devoted to God and her people. Immersing myself in her tragic life was an emotional experience that I will never forget. I hope that my readers appreciate seeing a different side of Queen Mary.

(Samantha Wilcoxson, June 2018)