There was a time when I could name in order over four hundred years of British monarchs. Much of that comes from reading books by Alison Weir and my other favorite Tudor author Philippa Gregory. In the Passionate Tudor, Weir brings to life the story of Queen Mary I. Mary is the first legitimate child of King Henry VIII. She is raised by her mother, Katherine of Aragon to be a future queen. She is beloved and then put aside as a child. She is also to be used as a barter for potential marriage alliances. She is forced to leave court but separated from her mother when Henry married Anne Boleyn.

Mary essentially has to stand by and watch as her father's wives are executed, die or are divorced. She also must endure being forced to sign documents saying that she is illegitimate so that she may return to court. I don’t think I was surprised by anything in the book as I knew in general how Mary came to power. Her fervent belief in Catholicism is a driving force for her. I forgot how tenuous her reign was. With an unpopular marriage, phantom pregnancies and religious zeal she goes from admirable to pitiable by her death.

At over 500 pages there is a lot of story here. I trust Weir to be accurate but some of the background details can be dry or tedious to read. As always I love the author's notes at the end of the book. This is the third in the Tudor Rose series and will be a welcome read for people who enjoy learning real history by reading historical fiction. Thank you to Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the ARC and I am leaving a voluntary review.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
The Passionate Tudor is Alison Weir’s latest Tudor novel, chronicling the life of Mary I. It’s truly an epic story, and in some ways, she did it justice. It doesn’t break new ground, nor did I expect it to, but while it’s not my favorite book I’ve read from her, I enjoyed the choices she made overall.
Mary herself has always been a polarizing figure, and Weir acknowledges this in her author’s note, although she also challenges it by pointing out that both Henry VIII and Elizabeth were also just as “bloody,” if not more so, and had longer reigns which skew the numbers more in their favor. But even those who condemn Mary’s actions as Queen admit that her upbringing is a reaction to the intense trauma she suffered as a child, which I feel Weir depicts the most strongly. Mary is depicted as the apple of her father’s eye and close to both her father and mother, until Henry grew disillusioned with his marriage and fell into his passion for Anne Boleyn. And even as an Anne Boleyn sympathizer (Weir is notably anti-Anne in other books), I can’t help but understand Mary’s ire toward Anne, especially when Anne responded with equal venom. While it’s hard to see Mary so easily absolve her father of his abuse of her, blaming it all on Anne, this is very accurate to Mary’s mindset, especially as she thought Anne’s execution would magically change things, and it actually wasn’t until Mary submitted to Henry’s demand that she acknowledge her parents’ marriage as invalid that he would acknowledge her again.
In addition to exploring the impact of those early years, I found the first part the strongest for how it focused on her relationships with each of her father’s subsequent wives, especially highlighting the close relationship she had with Jane Seymour, serving as chief mourner at her funeral. And despite the fact that religion would divide them, I liked seeing the bond between her and Katharine Parr, and how that also brought Mary into contact with Catherine Willoughby, whose mother, Maria de Salinas, was Katherine of Aragon’s lady-in-waiting, and they had a brief exchange about this.
I also enjoyed seeing how Mary’s relationships with Elizabeth and Edward played out. I was particularly intrigued by how Mary’s suspicions regarding Elizabeth’s paternity were established early on, and while it did not impact Mary treating her as a sister overall, there was a sense of doubt there. And with Edward and Mary’s religious clashes being documented, I love how the origins of this were depicted.
Pacing wise, I feel like this was where the book lagged. While all of Weir’s fiction at this point more or less deals with information that avid Tudor fans know, most usually are engaging. And the first two parts were the most interesting due to the tenuous position Mary was in as the King’s obstinate daughter, in and out of favor, and then the King’s heretic sister. But part three, chronicling her time as Queen, was dull, in spite of it being the part that most shaped her legacy. The early chapters of part three, with her fight for the throne, were engaging, and a bit with Wyatt’s Rebellion as well, but after that, I started skimming. Reading about her phantom pregnancy and declining health, while accurate to the timeline, were particularly mood-killing.
While I didn’t enjoy this as much as I’d hoped, it’s possibly a “me” thing, as I’ve often struggled with biographical fiction that covers long periods of a person’s life. And I’d still recommend it to readers of historical fiction, whether you’re looking for a solid introduction to Mary or if you’re a Tudor fan like me.

If you are a Tudor history buff then you know the queen of Tudor historical fiction is Alison Weir. There is no one better at making you feel you are living in that period of time than her. The Passionate Tudor is no different. Ms. Weir draws you into the world of King Henry VIII's child with first wife Katherine of Aragon; future Queen Mary I. Mary is often used as a pawn throughout her childhood with the hopes of making Queen Katherine agree to a divorce. Sometimes her father loves her and other times she is ignored, basically abandoned with only servants to care for her. Whether she was treated well or not by those servants was based on the King's mood at the time and he was quite mercurial.

Although we all know the basic history of future Queen Mary I, this novel tells you why and how she came to be known as Bloody Mary. Often seen as compassionate, once she became Queen she was determined to bring her country back to what she believed was the true faith: Catholicism. What she was willing to do to her subjects in the name of that faith makes it hard for many to continue feeling that same compassion for her.

Another great addition to the Tudor books by Ms. Weir! Thank you to Random House Publishing Group who provided an advance e-reader copy via NetGalley.

This was the first time that I had read a novel from Mary's point of view. Alison Weir did a brilliant job in showing us Mary's struggles growing up, as well as the path she chose as an adult to restore her religion.

In the passionate tutor the third book in the Tudor Rose Siri‘s by Alison where we get another five star read about king Henry’s daughter queen Mary a.k.a. bloody Mary and her life. We get to see all the reason she grew up to hate the protestant people and so much more. There is so much to read in this book that I didn’t already know about her previous fiancés her relationships with her stepmother‘s her siblings and her phantompregnancies this is a great book something I find your almost guaranteed with Allison Weir until reading this book I have always thought queen Mary was cold and unfeeling through her relationship with her nanny and some of her stepmother‘s I see a whole different side to her and feel so bad for her something I’ve never felt before. I want to thank valentine books for my free arc copy via NetGalley please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review

I really wanted to love this book but I couldn’t get into it. It felt like it moved really slow. It did pick up farther into the book but it took me a lot. Ended up thinking it was just ok

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballentine Books for this eArc in exchange for my honest review. Welp, I made it to 43% and felt I had to DNF this book. But let's start with what is good. As always Alison Weir's writing is immaculate technically. She's also a very knowledgeable historian and it shows! I have read both her non-fiction and fiction books about the Tudor Dynasty. What didn't work for me? It felt as if we were jumping from one historically known event to another and showing Mary's reaction to those things. The pacing in the beginning definitely felt too fast. We flew through Mary's childhood and then the book started to slow down to moderate pacing as she reached her teenage years and it felt like the breaks were hit suddenly. Although I really enjoy the history, I was hoping for an indepth look at Mary's personality and feelings which I felt like was lacking. I think someone who is not as familiar with the history of this time period but is curious may really enjoy this book. Unfortunately it just didn't work for me and wasn't holding my attention.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Passionate Tudor by Alison Weir is a historical novel exploring the life of Queen Mary of England, aka Bloody Mary. When Mary’s mother falls from favor after yet another miscarriage, Henry VIII starts to look elsewhere for a queen to give him an heir and Mary’s life is changed forever. Her devotion to her mother and her faith is constantly tested as her father and her people demand that she submit to their versions of the truth.

My favorite part was how much time was spent on Mary’s relationship with her younger sister, Elizabeth. We see how Mary’s opinions of Elizabeth evolve and change, but nothing destroys her love for her sister because they are two women trapped in a world that is constantly trying to oust them. Mary doesn’t have strong aspirations for the throne, but more wants to be recognized as legitimate and wants the same for Elizabeth even if she doesn’t believe Elizabeth is also Henry’s child.

Mary’s faith and Catholicism show up quite a bit. From the constant references to the Pope in Rome to Mary’s belief that Anne Boleyn wasn’t truly married to Henry to mentions of mass, her devotion to her beliefs plays a key role in how Mary picks which relationships to invest in and guide her decisions and ideals. Many of the people close to Mary are Catholic themselves or do not recognize the Protestant movement that was brewing at the time.

Mary is portrayed as a sympathetic young woman who is often concerned that she is growing too old to attract a husband or have a child, which she does want. She isn’t portrayed as having grand plans for the British Empire in terms of expansion but wants to return the country back to the Catholic Church. Many of her concerns are more rooted in having access to her family (Henry, Edward, Catherine of Aragon, and Elizabeth) and in her family being treated with respect. There’s a strong throughline of Mary’s main motivation being familial love, especially when Henry starts paying attention to Anne Boleyn and tosses her mother aside.

I would recommend this to fans of works depicting the Tudor dynasty, readers who like works featuring Elizabeth I, and those looking for a historical novel exploring the history of religion in England.

In The Passionate Tudor, Alison Weir provides the accuracy we have come to expect from the author coupled with a personal narrative of Mary that allows us to explore both her point-of-view and her motivations. Mary remains one of my least favorite Tudor monarchs, and as Weir points out in her author’s note at the end, there is very little that history can do to make her a sympathetic figure. I respect Weir for providing Mary with a voice that allows us to see her vulnerabilities without attempting to make us sympathetic to her faults. I understand those who may feel the book was too long; however, I didn’t mind the length. Weir’s writing sucked me into the story fairly quickly and I was in no real hurry to leave. 4.5 Stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballentine Books (Random House Publishing) for the advanced reader’s copy.

I love all of Alison Weir's Tudor books. She has a way of making you feel as if you are living in the time period with these legends. Mary has always been fascinating, even before her "bloody mary" reign began. From being isolated from her mother, the drama with her father Henry VIII, and the various health issues she faced throughout her life. She was more complicated then her nickname would show.

The Passionate Tudor by Alison Weir is a beautifully crafted and poignant portrayal of one of history's most complex, maligned, and fascinating figures. With her characteristic verve and attention to evocative period detail, Weir tells the story in a way that will linger in your mind long after you finish the last page. This book is a must-read for Tudor fans everywhere.

As a passionate Tudor fan, I read everything Tudor, and Alison Weir is the go to proverbial author for me. She has done it again with this book, The Passionate Tudor! From beginning to end, it was absorbing and passionate. If you want to feel like you are in the rooms where it happened read anything by Ms. Weir. This book is a complete and admirable book on everything Bloody Mary. I feel like I now know all about her life, her queenship, her jealousies, her clothes, her castles and her sickness, I would definitely call Mary a very tragic individual, from her birth to her death. I have to say she deserved the death she had. A brutal Queen, I'm sure her people in England were so happy she died, finally, putting an ending to the horrible killings she instigated all over England. Elizabeth coming to power was so welcomed. Bye bye to Mary.

This was such a great book! I cannot wait until Ms. Weir's next book on the Tudors! Who will it be this time?

3.5 Stars

I've read quite a lot of books about The Tudors over the decades, so you might say I am all Tudored out at this point. However, this piece of historical fiction was written by veteran British royal author Alison Weir, so it was hard to say no to reading this. But at over 500 pages, it was a bit of a dirge crawling along in excruciating detail through Mary Tudor's childhood as she watched her father King Henry VIII abandon her mother Queen Katharine (of Aragon), marry Anne Boleyn (then sign her execution warrant), marry Jane Seymour (then watch her die after birthing their son Edward), marry and divorce Anne of Cleves, marry Katherine Howard (then sign her execution warrant), and marry Catherine Parr- his final wife. At about the 65% point (and 5 hours to go) I surrendered and skimmed ahead to the poignant topic of Mary Tudor's false pregnancies and eventual death. I didn't learn anything new, but perhaps I'm just not the audience for this kind of book anymore. Call me a cynic, but it just seems like the same subjects keep being rehashed and repackaged with new titles and covers.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

Wow, is this book detailed! Of course, when most people gloss over Mary as a bloodthirsty [bleep] whose bored husband continually ditched her, it's not hard to give her sufficient attention.

(Sorry for not reviewing this here sooner...I thought I got it from the UK site.)

The cover of this book grabbed me immediately seeing that Alison Weir is the author. She is the most accomplished knowledgeable person on the Tudor reign. So it is my opinion she is the only person who can give a definitive story of Mary’s life and times. The novel also is able to capture the human side of Mary from the very beginning and having to watch her father set her loving mother aside and forcing an annulment. Which, in turn, made Mary illegitimate. Anne did not produce a male heir either and because of the evidence that would be brought before Henry, an other annulment was requested and approved, thus making Elizabeth illegitimate too. The girls would become close sisters. their father would marry again and would have a son. Henry makes his Will and Act of Succession. His heirs are first in line Edward and his sisters in order, followed by their heirs. Edward, in his youth, would ascend the throne councillors to guide him and make decisions. Once he was of age, he made the Protestant faith the faith of the land. Mary was beside herself with Anger.for she believed true faith was the one of Rome and always would be the true faith. She was so passionate in her faith, in time, she would find that her sister stood as adamant in her Protestant faith. Edward’s Will would declare his cousin, Jane Gray to be in line of his succession. He also wrote a document to disinherit his sisters. Mary would have to fight Jane to ascend the throne. The people adored Mary and would overthrow Jane easily. Mary would go on to become queen but, she was not a strong, in charge person, often depending on her guidance from her mother’s King of Spain or the ambassador from Rome. Later she would depend on her husband for all decisions because she didn’t trust her councilors. In actuality her husband wasn’t good for England norm her, the way All this changed my perception of Mary, but in my opinion she still deserves the moniker “Bloody Mary”. I would definitely recommend this be in libraries and a must read for English classes. Special thanks to the following for allowing me to read an early e-copy and allowing me to give my own honest opinion:
#NetGalley
#PenguinRandomHouse Ballentine Books
#AlisonWeir
#ThePassionateTudor
Publication Date: April 28, 2024

I love Weirs novels and this one is no different. She has done a fantastic job of bringing Mary the 1st to life for us.
I simply couldn't put this one down until I finished it.
Mary has quite the story! Wow! I feel that I've gotten to know her so much better than I did!
It's no wonder that she became who she was in the end! Poor girl.
Although I will say, she does have her father's temper and it definitely showed!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books for the arc!
Once again Alison Weir does it again! I have yet to find a book that I don't like that is written by this author. The level of research and the depth of the characters that she writes about is astounding.
I also really appreciated the author's note. A must read.
Highly recommend this book!

I did not know much about Queen Mary I, England’s first female monarch. Weir does a good job of taking us from her happy childhood through the torment of being separated from her mother and on through her reign which is ultimately considered a failure. She had strength but was often overrun with doubts, easily influenced in some things but staunch and unrelenting in others, ultimately being remembered as Bloody Mary. I think Weir does an excellent job of fleshing out the full cast of characters and giving a real sense of time and place.

My review can be found on Litsy with my handle @Deblovestoread. I gave this book 4 🌟on The Storygraph.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

As a fan of Ms. Weir's books, I was thrilled when I had the opportunity to read The Passionate Tudor. Once again, the author draws the reader in with her writing style and her knowledge of the time period. I am not a Mary Tudor fan, but I felt myself feeling sorry for her. The interactions between Mary and Elizabeth were well done. It was interesting to read that Mary was a mother figure to Elizabeth in those early years.

Mary's religion is a driving force behind most of her decisions. We see this when she finally becomes queen and tries to turn England back to Catholicism. We see her love for her religion, how she leans on it, and also how she becomes a radical when she tries to destroy the heretics.

I highly recommend this book for Tudor fans or those that enjoy Alison Weir's writing. It will not disappoint.

Born from young King Henry’s first marriage, his elder daughter, Princess Mary, is raised to be queen once it becomes clear that her mother, Katherine of Aragon, will bear no more children. However, Henry’s passion for Anne Boleyn has a devastating influence on the young princess’s future when, determined to sire a male heir, he marries Anne, has his marriage to Katherine declared unlawful,

The Passionate Tudor
by Alison Weir
Pub Date: May 28 2024

brands Mary illegitimate, and banishes them both from the royal court. But when Anne too fails to produce a son, she is beheaded and Mary is allowed to return to court as the default heir. At age twenty, she waits in vain for her own marriage and children, but who will marry her, bastard that she is?

Yet Mary eventually triumphs and becomes queen, after first deposing a seventeen-year-old usurper, Lady Jane Grey, and ordering her beheading. Any hopes that Mary, as the first female queen regent of England, will show religious toleration are dashed when she embarks on a ruthless campaign to force Catholicism on the English by burning hundreds of Protestants at the stake. But while her brutality will forever earn her the name Bloody Mary, at heart she is an insecure and vulnerable woman, her character forged by the unhappiness of her early years.

In Alison Weir’s masterful novel, the drama of Mary I’s life and five-year reign—from her abusive childhood, marriage, and mysterious pregnancies to the cruelty that marks her legacy—comes to vivid life.