Bloody Mary

By: Carolly Erickson

Narrated by: Corrie James

Length: 23 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Here is the tragic, stormy life of Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. Her story is a chronicle of courage and faith, betrayal and treachery - set amidst the splendor, pageantry, squalor, and intrigue of 16th-century Europe.

The history of Mary Tudor is an improbable blend of triumph, humiliation, heartbreak, and devotion - and Ms. Erickson recounts it all against the turbulent background of European politics, war, and religious strife of the mid-1500s. The result is a rare portrait of the times and of a woman elevated to unprecedented power in a world ruled and defined by men.

©1978 Carolly Erickson (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

A good history

If your a Tudor history fan this is deep and thorough. But it is a history - not a fictionalization scandal funhouse - so be prepared for some dry content but faithful telling of a queens life.

Not the best of books, not the worst of books

I usually love Carolly Erickson's books but this one failed to capture me. Mary Tudor is certainly an Interesting subject so I don't know why I was unable to connect here. Ms. Erickson provides plenty of information in a well written format and the narration was okay but I just found myself wandering while listening.

An absolutely WONDERFUL narrative of Queen Mary I

Would you listen to Bloody Mary again? Why?

This book takes the life of Queen Mary far beyond the accepted stories and gives us a view of her personal life and trials.

Disappointing

Too much expositional background, which is unfortunate. You have to get about midway in the book to even start Mary's life. The orator was ok—except you could hear the saliva moving around in her mouth which was gross. Overall, this was a disappointment, and just a vague history of 40 years of Tudor history in which Mary just "happened" to live.

I'm sure it's great! the narrator needs a drink

I can't! I can't continue to listen to the narrators spittle and strange pauses. she sounds like she needs some water. I'll just purchase the book and read it myself.

Boring

I was expecting this one to be less objective. Instead, it reads like an encyclopedia.

Where is Mary???????

I had to keep checking the title wondering if I’d misread it. So far not a word about Bloody Mary, although I am reading a good bit about Tudor heritage, most of which is quite familiar to history buffs. I’ll look elsewhere for the historical gore which will fascinate my HS students enough to turn the page. I do have a number of excellent books authored by CK, but sadly this one disappoints. i

Well told but felt Imbalanced

I like Carolly Erickson’s books. But, I felt this story did not answer the question posed by the title, why was she known as Bloody Mary? Author does a great job of telling a story that makes a heroine of whomever her subject may be. But still, it seems she favored this one more than some of her others and certainly more than history has favored this one. She was harshly honest about Elizabethan court, but seems to have smoothed over the uglier aspects of this monarch.

Bloody Mary missing in action...

I agree with other comments about this audio book.
There's very little about Mary Tudor and most of it is dedicated to her father, mother, intrigues, politics, wars, etc.
Very disappointing. I'll try to find another author about this subject.

Disappointing work from Erickson

I am intrigued by the Tudors and have read many books about the various Tudor members. I have read Erickson’s other works centering on Henry VIII’s wives, Elizabeth I, and others. The information presented here is interesting and relatively well presented, but the problem with this title is it does not center on Princess (and later Queen) Mary. At least three quarters of the book is a regurgitation of the Henry/Katherine/Anne situation. Each of Henry’s wives and their lives are revisited. For a book that is supposed to center on Mary, a lot of space is taken with information about other Tudors already covered in other Erickson titles. The presenter does a fine job reading the book, but when the book is called Bloody Mary, it really should be about her and not just a rehash of Henry VIII’s exploits.