I was familiar with Alison Weir because my former grad school advisor once mentioned her as someone she knew, but I had never read one of her books before this. This book was unfortunately not my cup of tea. I'm not sure if all of Weir's books are like this, but this one is very much a "this happened, and then this happened, and then this happened, and then this happened..." account of Mary I's life, and a rather boring one at that. Mary I was a fairly interesting person in reality, but you wouldn't know it from Weir's book. But... if you're interested in reading nearly 500 pages of boring drivel about a naïve woman not doing much at all, this is the book for you.

"The Passionate Tudor" is an excellent addition to the Tudor Rose series by Alison Weir. This book, which chronicles the life of Queen Mary I, the first Queen Regnant of England, humanizes an often maligned figure. Beginning when she is young and going until the moment right up until her death, the novel works to gives us insight into what psychology might have led to the decisions that have given her the enduring title of "Bloody Mary".

Inherently, Mary was written as a sympathetic character in much of the novel. Though I disagree with a number of her viewpoints Catholicism-wise, I found myself sympathizing with her and rooting for her all the same. She showed a great deal of courage and perseverance under extreme odds as well as admirable faith. You can really see how Mary is a combination of her father's and Katherine of Aragon's personalities (were Katherine invested with the kind of power as Heir and Queen that Mary ultimately is).

However, as Weir noted in her author's note, I find that sympathy wanes rather quickly once she becomes Queen and embarks on her religious persecution. In this way, Elizabeth I was much wiser than Mary I - perhaps learning a lesson from her sister - in that she came up with the enduring compromise of the English Church. It did get me wondering, with all the similarities between Mary I and her mother, how Katherine of Aragon might have handled such matters. Might she, Katherine, have turned out as hated where she is now remembered so well in history? Just got me thinking.

One point of minor issue I had with the book is that there are a great deal of explanatory passages. While I understand the necessity of covering a vast amount of historical material in a short period of time to get the plot continuing, it got a little too much for me at some points. I would have liked it if more dialogue were used to explain some pieces here and there, if possible.

Overall, I am pleased to see Weir adding another excellent novel to her monolithic body of work, and congratulate her on such a tour-de-force. If anyone could take on Mary I and make her sympathetic - or at least comprehensible - it is Weir. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5. Thank you to Weir and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

#ThePassionateTudor #NetGalley

"The Passionate Tudor" by Alison Weir delves into the tumultuous life of Princess Mary, daughter of King Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. Raised to be queen, Mary's future is thrown into uncertainty when her father's passion for Anne Boleyn leads to the annulment of his marriage to Katherine, branding Mary illegitimate. Despite enduring hardships, including banishment from court and the execution of her mother, Mary eventually ascends to the throne. However, her reign is marred by religious persecution, earning her the infamous title of Bloody Mary. Weir's novel vividly portrays Mary's journey, from her troubled childhood to her tumultuous reign, revealing the complexities of her character and the legacy of her rule.

This was my first novel by Alison Weir, and I greatly enjoyed it! I was also unaware that this was the third in the Tudor Rose trilogy, but I don't think that impaired my enjoyment at all. I did feel like the writing was slow in the first third of The Passionate Tudor, more of a sequence of events happening to Mary, rather than her feeling like a character experiencing them. I recognize that that might be how Weir writes, which I'm new to, and also that her work consists of chronicling an individual's entire life. I felt like Mary came into her own as a character and as an enjoyable perspective to read from when she finally ascended the throne, which makes sense thematically with her coming into power. As a history student, I can say that I'm definitely the target demographic for this type of book, and consequently would understand why someone might not enjoy it as much as I did. Even so, I wasn't overly familiar with this period of English history, so the story itself was new to me, in the sense that I was not expecting certain events, or perceiving the writing as overly-autobiographical. Overall, I really enjoyed my first entry in Alison Weir's expansive catalogue. I'm definitely going to look into another one of her works to pick up soon! Thank you for giving me access to this early!

The Passionate Tudor: A Novel of Queen Mary I
by Alison Weir is a great historical fiction that is the third book in the Tudor Rose series.

I just loved Alison Weir and have thoroughly enjoyed every book of hers that I have read. This is such a great series to expand on (the first two being: The Last White Rose and The King’s Pleasure) after delving into the six book series of the Queens of Henry VIII.

Mary I is such a person full of contradictions: momentous yet limited, passionate and zealous yet narrow-minded and judgmental, a heart that started out so full of love and joy to give others yet starved and withered in the end. Her life is fascinating yet mundane and tragic. She was misjudged but yet some of her actions really did support some of the rumors made common knowledge.

Not very often does Mary I get the spotlight, and so many things that took place in her life are glossed over, yet Ms. Weir gives us an excellent fictional narrative that allows Mary I to have her moment and her day to let us all know more about what made her the monarch, woman, and the person we now reflect on today.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 5/28/24.

I devoured this book! Even though it is a work of fiction, it’s based on a real person. I’ve always hated Mary I as she was known as “Bloody Mary.” This story showed me that there was more to her than that and I feel more sorry for her than anything else. Four stars because it was a really long book and there were a few times it was repetitive.

This is the third in the Tudor Rose series, and my favorite! This tells the story of Mary I, the first daughter of Henry VIII and the queen who eventually became known as "Bloody Mary". She was also the first woman to successfully claim the English throne, an impressive feat that I think is often overlooked given the rest of her legacy. 
*
I've read a ton of nonfiction and historical fiction about the Tudor era, so I went into this knowing a lot about Mary I, but still felt like I got a new perspective of her life. This does a great job of showing how the tumult throughout her life could have affected her, and led to her making the decisions she made. 
*
I would have liked to have seen a little bit more of the persecution of Protestants, she's responsible for a lot of deaths but it felt like a very minor part of the story. 
*
All that said, I very much enjoyed reading this! If you're into this time period, I would definitely recommend reading (although be warned - it is long and very detailed, I think it could be boring if you're not really excited about it). This is part of a series, but it can absolutely be read as a standalone.

Alison Weir, who has written extensively on the Tudor era in both fiction and non-fiction titles, portrays Queen Mary I of England very sympathetically yet fairly. Mary is a hard sell to view very empathetically, especially when she's earned the moniker "Bloody Mary" for her penchant for sending approximately 300 Protestant heretics to burn at the stake. Weir's depiction of Mary as a young princess whose world is completely turned upside down by the arrival of Anne Boleyn into Henry VIII's affections is compelling and realistic. Mary lost her legitimacy and hence her succession to the throne, and watched her mother, Queen Katherine of Aragon suffer humiliation and enforced isolation due to her resistance to give Henry the divorce he demanded. Because of Henry's cruelty, Mary was kept from seeing or communicating with her mother, even when she was mortally ill. Mary also suffered the indignity of becoming baby Elizabeth's caregiver while Anne plotted Katherine and Mary's demise.

Weir shows how all of these events, as well as the lack of a royal spouse for Mary, sent her increasingly towards religion for solace. The comfort Mary finds in religion and going to mass turns into an obsession as she often went nine times per day! To further compound her feelings of inadequacy and discontent Mary was still unmarried, and she watched Elizabeth grow into a young and vital princess who easily turned male heads. This caused tremendous jealousy, which Weir does an excellent job of conveying. This bitter envy also extended to the populous of England because they seemed to prefer Elizabeth as she rode through the countryside to the delight of the people. Mary's resentment festered even into her reign. Weir does try to justify Mary's desire to bring the Inquisition to England by hunting down and executing heretics as a way of giving them a taste of hell on earth in order to spare them the fires of hell in the afterlife. But even with these reasons mentioned a couple of times, it is hard to consider this as the real reason why Mary continued to execute Protestants even when she saw how it was ruining her reputation with her councilors, her people and even the Pope. Power and revenge seem like her true motivations, and even Weir talks about this in her author's note. Mary did indeed have a hard life, and her eventual marriage to Philip II of Spain was not the romantic happy ending she had hoped for either. Her story's ending is tragic and Weir delivers it with pathos. Overall, fans of Tudor England and Alison Weir will truly enjoy this fair and balanced characterization of Mary I.

Like all of Alison Weir's books about this period, The Passionate Tudor is well-told historical fiction that immerses the reader in the intrigue and drama of one of England's most memorable royal times. Her writing remains as impeccable as ever, but I struggled with the pace and length of this book. Perhaps it's that I had a hard time feeling empathy for Queen Mary I (in her readers' notes, Alison Weir confesses the same - perhaps that dogged determination to give her a fair shake is what makes this book drag a bit), but about halfway through I was incredulous that there was still so many wives and an additional king to get through until Mary's reign. And then, once there, well...let's just say my feelings for Mary didn't improve with her ascension. Mary is a challenging subject and Alison Weir tackled her with grace, which is an impressive feat.

This book was so fantastic. In true form, Alison Weir did no wrong here. The history was immaculate, and the story portrayed Queen Mary in a way that I had not seen before - making her extremely understandable, if not a sympathetic character. The character development was amazing, and I was transported to another time, as I always am with her writings. Though it was long, the story sped past and allowed for more insight on my behalf than ever before. I had only really read tales which were far more sympathetic to Elizabeth, or Anne Boleyn, or the wives of Henry VIII. This was something far different and far more interesting because Mary herself was a complicated individual, as is noted in the book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves well-researched, immaculately written historical fiction.

This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As always, Weir's work is well-researched and entertainingly written. A must-read for readers of Tudor period fiction.

*I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I read every book Alison Weir writes and I learn something every time. Ms Weir never fails to bring her stories to life and this book is no exception.

Alison Weir always does a fantastic job in writing a great Tudor novel, it uses everything that I was looking for and that the characters worked overall in this universe. It uses the drama that I was expecting and enjoyed based on the previous books. Alison Weir has a great overall concept for the genre and glad I got to read this.

requested and received an eARC of The Passionate Tudor by Alison Weir via NetGalley. I have enjoyed Weir’s previous fiction and nonfiction works, so I knew coming into this novel I would be in for a treat. Weir’s latest work of fiction explores the life of Mary I, opening with childhood and concluding with the end of her reign (her death.)
Just like with her Six Tudor Queens series, Weir offers a plethora of detail and immerses the reader in Mary’s world, shedding a light of understanding on the queen typically reduced to the moniker “Bloody Mary.”

Beginning with her childhood, it is difficult not to form an attachment and sympathy for the young Mary. Separated from her mother, treated poorly by her father’s new wife, legally declared a bastard and having to worry over whether or not she might be poisoned! It’s a lot to bear for someone so young. There were moments that I wanted to shake Anne Boleyn on behalf of Mary. I was enthralled with the sections of her life throughout Edward VI’s reign, and even managed to have sympathy for Mary as her own reign began. Weir does not attempt to excuse the monarch’s actions, but does offer a compelling narrative insight into what molded Mary into the personality she was known for during her own reign (burning “heretics”, her phantom pregnancy, paranoia.)

Sometimes historical fiction can be daunting, with names and titles creating confusion, but this certainly isn’t the case here. Weir fills in the blanks, adjusting the gaps from the perspective of her chosen protagonist. Although I haven’t read the previous installments in the Tudor Rose series, I have read the complete Six Queens series and I thought it was incredible how the author was able to craft such lively personalities for the women in her novels. This is especially true of Mary as depicted in The Passionate Tudor. Her portrait of the monarch is both informative and entertaining. The story itself, although rooted in well-known history, still manages to deliver both suspense and a very immediate emotional response from the reader.

This book just sums up exactly how I feel about Mary Tudor and her rule as Queen. Once again, Alison Weir doesn't disappoint and keeps the story flowing and historically accurate. This takes place from the time of Mary's childhood until her death and covers all the important events during her lifetime. As with all of her books there is a great authors note at the end. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Passionate Tudor is the third book in Alison Weir’s Tudor Rose series. It was a fascinating fictional look at the life of Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. For the first time Mary seemed like an actual person and you could understand what made her the person she became. My copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to the the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it.

Although The Passionate Tudor is written as a historical fiction, I was impressed with the large amount of actual history that was used in the book! It certainly brought to life the story of Queen Mary and what it would have felt like growing up in the household of King Henry the VIII. The struggle with the two daughters of his who both became queens in their own time was fascinating as the author tied them together in the story. It really gives a better understanding of how they would have lived and how their lives changed as the situations also changed for them. You really get a full view of the three children and how each get to the crown. Very well done!

The Passionate Tudor: A Novel of Queen Mary I (Tudor Rose, #3) by Alison Weir
US pub date - 5/28/24


Henry VIII’s roving eye and desire to have everything so that it best benefitted him destroyed much and many, not least of all, his eldest surviving child, Mary I.

Reading Mary’s descent from hopeful and loving daughter to religious zealot and a queen who would stop at nothing to put right what she felt was wrong was highly interesting, as most books I’ve read about the Tudors, Mary is often but a bloody footnote in between Henry and Elizabeth I.

Combine Ms Weir’s research and writing, with her sensitivity to her subject matter and the result is highly engaging, very well written historical fiction based on a woman who went through much, and caused much cruel chaos and havoc.

Alison Weir is an auto-buy author for me, and this is one I definitely recommend.



Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the DRC

Thank you for NetGalley for the ARC. This review is my own opinion and freely given.

I was so over the moon to get an ARC of this book. I discovered Alison Weir several years ago when I read her book about Katherine of Aragon and she did the series about the wives of Henry VIII. Since then, I have read anything I can get my hands on by her and this book doesn’t disappoint.

The Passionate Tudor follows the dramatized life of Mary I, the only surviving child of Henry VIII and Katherine (Henry’s first wife). It begins as her mother and father’s marriage is starting to fray and the King’s Great Matter is becoming gossip for everyone. What follows is how Mary’s front row seats to the setting aside of her mother, her own illegitimacy then her own sadness as she continues to wait for a husband and children. Finally, she becomes queen, but because of everything she went through as a child she becomes a brutal defender of the Catholic faith. As well as deeply insecure, probably because of her years of unease as a child. It was interesting to see all these events through Mary’s eyes, as well as see the devotion to her mother, even as her father is bent on keeping them apart once he realizes that both women are on the same side.

While this book is based on history, and well researched, it isn’t boring. The story moves forward, doesn’t contain too much narration, and the characters are well developed. I felt badly for Mary, and I could not imagine the fear and doubt that plagued her life. Lots of young girls dream of being a princess, but Mary’s life was not enviable. Everything about it was difficult, and only through her faith was she able to endure. However, ultimately that faith and inability to compromise turned her into a ruler every bit as ruthless and brutal as Henry VIII.

If you enjoy Alison Weir’s work, this one is every bit as interesting, well researched and thoughtful as all her other work. I highly recommend “The Passionate Tudor” A novel of Queen Mary I.

Attention, all you Tudor fans! Since none of us ever get enough, here's a new historical novel about Queen Mary I - only daughter of King Henry VIII (1491- 1547) and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon (1485 - 1536), and Queen of England from 1553-58. Awarded three stars but 3.5 is more accurate.

THE PASSIONATE TUDOR traces the life of Mary from happy childhood as the adored child of her parents until her death at the age of 42. If you know anything about her history, you know that between these two events there is plenty of drama:

• Her father's betrayal by questioning both the legitimacy of his marriage to Catherine and Mary's birth, events which led to the English Reformation and its split from Rome.

• Anne Boleyn (1501? - 1536) taking Katherine's place as Queen of England and her subsequent mistreatment of Mary.

• Lady Jane Grey's (1537 - 1554) nine-day long attempt to usurp Mary's throne.

• Mary's engagements to a variety of royal heads of state, eventually leading to her not-too-happy marriage to King Phillip II (1527 - 1598) of Spain.

• Mary's steadfast devotion to the Catholic Church and the numerous Protestants who suffered as a result, resulting in her nickname as "Bloody Mary."

• And of course, the ups and downs of Mary's relationship with her younger sister and heir, Elizabeth I (1533 - 1603) an early Protestant.

The novel is long at 528 pages. Too long in my opinion. Most fans of Tudor historical fiction will no doubt already know the name Alison Weir. Either from her dozens of non-fiction books (most related to the Tudors) or from her many more recently published novels. Or both. As a well-respected historian, she definitely knows her history. But I have found with many historians who go on to write historical fiction, they often include too much of their scholarship in their novels. Excessive detail and background information tends to slow down the pace of a novel for me. And so it was with this book. So much so that Mary's day-to-day life as Queen became downright tedious. Also, at times, the voice of the narration didn't ring true, especially when Weir was writing about Mary as a child.

Of course as a diehard Tudor fan, nothing could keep me from finishing the book. And perhaps part of the problem is that I already know much about the Tudors so that much of Weir's detail was not new to me.

I am glad I read THE PASSIONATE TUDOR. I just didn't enjoy every single page. And I didn't enjoy this novel as much as Weir's SIX QUEENS series about the wives of Henry VIII.