My thanks to both NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for an advance copy of this graphic novel biography about a princess who became a queen, once loved, but considered a tyrant, showing that being a princess sometimes is not the best thing in the world.

I never thought about being a prince as a child, though my parents did call me one when I was stubborn or lazy, something my mother calls my nephews now. I did have a cousin who talked all the time about being a princess, and how great it would be. She would talk about dresses, galas, suitors, ladies in waiting and all the great things that being a princess would gain her. As I grew up and read more and more history, I found out the being a princess was not always a great thing. A princess something to be used in barter. Marrying a princess off could end a war, form a treaty, end a war, and get rid of extra children. When there was trouble in the realm, being a royal could be considered a problem. Only one can rule, and others just confuse the matter, and confusion could lead to being sent to the Tower. One could be a loving daughter, the next stripped of titles, and left in a limbo, like Mary Tudor was. As with many people in history there are lots of legends, rumors and stories, this graphic novel tries to get to the truth of the person who was once beloved, but soon was considered a blood soaked tyrant. Bloody Mary: A Graphic Biography of Mary Tudor by is written and illustrated by Kristina Gehrmann and tells the story of a princess who saw much change in the country she was too rule, rule in a short yet very violent time.

Mary Tudor was the oldest child of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. This was becoming a problem as the King wanted and needed a male heir to secure his power base. Catherine had gone through 3 miscarriages and had one son who died early in childhood. Mary was a precocious child, able to talk and entertain people older than her, but her sex was a problem, a problem that Henry was going to do something about. Mary was sent to Wales, while plans were made to marry her off. At the same time Henry's eyes began to stray to another woman. Henry hatched a plan to annul his marriage to Catherine, allowing him to marry in hopes of producing an heir. The plan was unpopular, causing a schism with Rome, and making Henry declare himself the leader of the Church. Mary was strongly Catholic, and against this, but had no choice, soon she wasn't even a princess, losing to her new sister Elizabeth her place in the line of succession. Soon there was a male heir, but the heir's health was not the best. And plots, plans, and other schemes began to make life in England very difficult for quite a lot.

A very good book, one that I found fascinating and easy to follow. English history can be a pain with so many similar names popping up in different eras, but Gehrmann does an excellent job of keeping everything clear, and easy to follow. One understands the problems of succession, the different forces trying to gain, and most often losing power, along with the many that lost their heads. Gehrmann is also the illustrator, and the art is really quite good. Bright, clear and shiny, with characters that are easy to recognize, with a lot of consistency. The writing and the art work well together and help make a complicated story easy to follow, and easy to get lost in.

This is the first work I have read either art or writing by Gehrmann and I quite enjoyed it. As I stated English history can be confusing. This covered quite a lot of events and made everything easy to understand, and enjoyable. Recommended for younger readers, as well as older ones who have read a lot of Alison Weir, or Sharon Kay Penman, and want a better understanding of the era.

This graphic novel offers a vivid and accessible take on a turbulent historical era. While I was already familiar with much of the history covered, I still appreciated the narrative structure and the visual storytelling, which added a fresh dimension to well-known events. For readers who might find traditional history texts daunting, this is an excellent alternative. It moves quickly, yet still covers the essential facts, making it a compelling way to engage with the past.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love the Tudors, so knew I would like it. And I did, for the most part. I thought the facts were interesting and obviously well researched. I did not love the flow of the text though or the way the point of view changed. I feel like you probably need to really like the Tudors in order to enjoy this book or need to read it for a class.

I didn’t enjoy the art style, but that was a personal preference. The colour palette used was nice, but the actual drawings did not work for me.

While the art was well done, and the story factually accurate, it read like a textbook. The tense of the narrative is inconsistent so it is hard to tell if it is meant to be a dry recitation of facts (with supporting pictures) or if the author was trying (and largely failing sadly) to present a more immersive tale, connecting the reader to the characters.

It could be used in a classroom setting, but don't recommend it for pleasure reading.

A great way to learn about English history in a fun way through a graphic novel. Students would gravitate to this book. I learned more than I knew.

A graphic novel depicting the life of and reign of Queen Mary I, also known as Bloody Mary.

She lived during a very tumultuous and bloody and unstable time during England’s history, mostly due to her father, Henry VIII, who’s notorious nowadays for going through wives like toilet paper and treating them with the same amount of care. I knew the basics before going in but not the details or the political/religious maneuvering going on behind the scenes, so that was interesting to see illustrated. I never liked Henry VIII but wow I dislike him even more after reading this… may he rightfully be complained about for all eternity to make up for the unrest he bestowed during his dysfunctional reign.

But back to Mary. It focused on her faith, how she dealt with her father and his revolving door of wives, and her own political maneuvering to stay alive. She seemed a good person who stuck to her morals early in her life, but after she comes into power, it goes bit downhill. The early parts of this graphic novel were focused a bit more on her family rather than her, and even after she’s in power that part felt brief by comparison, so I’m not sure this focused on Mary as much as it could have. I’m also not sure where the sources for this came from, so that would have been helpful to know.

The coloring was pretty, like water color, though the art style wasn’t my favorite. This does make the history easy to comprehend, and I could imagine middle grade or above students reading this to learn some English history.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for and eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I would like to thank the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this eBook.

As someone very interested in the Tudors, I enjoyed reading this book. Bloody Mary is an excellent graphic novel about Queen Mary. The art style was clean. I hope the author writes more biographical graphic novels in the future.

I did not like the art style of this one, It was not engaging and lacked visual depth. I got bored with it quickly, which is a shame because the Tudor era is one of my favorite time periods.

It’s fascinating to see Mary’s history from someone who doesn’t go straight to turning her to a villain. as far as comics go it is a little dry though. The art style is really appealing but sometimes I felt the background was oversimplified but that’s a personal preference issue. Ultimately I enjoyed reading this !

This was a really good representation of the rise and reign of Mary. I don't usually like historical non-fiction, but this was a good snap shot and easily digestible.

This was a really interesting look at history from Mary Tudor's POV (Bloody Mary) who was villainized for her violent efforts to force Catholicism on England after the she rose to power. It was interesting to learn more about her network including the emperor of Rome, and her governesses and ladies in waiting. I thought it was interesting how closely religion and politics have always been rolled into one another.

I think this would be good for high schoolers or older middle schoolers but some of the depictions of violence (beheadings, heads displayed on stakes, reference to a miscarriage with illustration) would be better for older audiences.

At the end, the author shared how she crafted her illustrations and I think it's so important and interesting for graphic novel artists and authors to share their technique because it really is interesting.

I highly recommend this book for high schools and libraries.

Lovely, illustrated graphic novel of the life of Mary Tudor. The story was simplified for the medium, but covered her life story. It was difficult to not find the parallels between King Henry VIII and current events.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for an eARC of this book in return for an honest, thoughtful review.

I enjoy historical stories, especially from the earlier centuries, and this graphic biography of Mary I was a surprising and fascinating read. The illustrations are striking and really help bring her story to life, even if you're not an art expert. What stood out most was how the book shows Mary’s early life with real sentiment. The book mentions her persecution of Protestants but doesn’t fully show the severity. Still, it helps the reader make connections to her infamous nickname, Bloody Mary. A great read for anyone interested in Tudor history or looking to understand Mary I beyond the “Bloody Mary” label.

I loved the art style! It really reminded me of the history textbooks of my childhood.

I think this would make a great read for children who are interested in history and want to learn more about Mary and her family and it was a nice change to see life from Mary's view with how popular shows like Six! the musical and My Lady Jane are at the moment.

One thing that I was slightly thrown off by is just how sharp and dark the text looks in comparison to the images on some pages as the images come off slightly blurry with how soft the art style is while the text is always perfectly black and sharp.

Thanks to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the early access in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the drawings and the format. I thought it was an entertaining graphic novel that tells the life of Mary I of England very well. I really liked the way the characters were portrayed, mixed with real fragments of letters to tell real events in an entertaining and dynamic way.
Highly recommended to bring this part of English history closer to children.

The art in this graphic novel which tells the story of Mary Tudor’s life was incredibly compelling and beautiful, turning this into a thrilling read. I learned a lot more about Bloody Mary’s life (although that nickname is never directly brought up) than I initially knew and now I want to learn more about this time period. A well rounded book that was thoroughly enjoyable.

Thank you to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this graphic novel. I think this one that if you're interested in Mary Tudor and want an easily accessible biography. This graphic novel is for you. This felt like a fictional story with actual facts intermingled in. The art is also beautiful. Because of these points, I have to give this a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

This was a gorgeously illustrated graphic novel biography about the life of Mary Tudor, sometimes known as "Bloody Mary" for her persecution and mass executions of Protestants during the early days of the Anglican Church in England. There were a few elements--the depiction of some of the wives of King Henry VIII, in particular--that I think fell more into historical misconception rather than historical fact. (Few people seem to be able to uplift one of the wives, in this case Catherine, without to some extent vilifying the others.) Though I did appreciate that Henry's accidents, which may have led to his worsening recklessness and anger, were included in the story. I also appreciated the focus on Mary, since much of what I've read about Tudor History was more focused on Elizabeth and the rest of the Tudors. I'd say Bloody Mary is a great place to start with learning about Tudor history or if you just want to see it depicted in a new format. I'll definitely have to check out Kristina Gehrmann's other graphic novels now.

Bloody Mary: A Graphic Biography of Mary Tudor is an easy to digest summary of the life of Mary Tudor. Kristina Gehrmann does a good job telling the story of Mary from her point of view while also including relevant information that was occurring away from where Mary was. Overall this is a good summary of the life of Mary Tudor for young readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the free eARC.

An excellent quick overview of the life of Mary Tudor. A fun read if you’re interested in Tudor times. Nice artwork and clear text.