On the Fourth Day of Christmas – Book 2

On the fourth day of Christmas On the Tudor Trail gave to me the chance to win a copy of Queen of Martyrs: The Story of Mary I by Samantha Wilcoxson.

To be in the running to win this book, leave a comment after this post.

Conditions of Entry

For your chance to win a copy of Queen of Martyrs: The story of Mary I, you must be subscribed to On the Tudor Trail’s newsletter (if you are not already, sign up on our homepage where it says ‘Free Enewsletter Subscription’).

Then simply leave a comment after this post between now and 31 December 2017. Don’t forget to leave your name and a contact email. Please note that I have comment moderation activated and need to ‘approve’ comments before they appear. There is no need to submit your comment twice.

This giveaway is open internationally.

One winner will be randomly selected and contacted by email shortly after the competition closes. Please ensure you’ve added natalie@onthetudortrail.com to your address book to avoid missing my email.

Good luck!

Find Out More

Book Blurb

‘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’?


Princess Mary and Lady Jane Grey Celebrate Christmas Together

By Samantha Wilcoxson for On the Tudor Trail

Before the battle for the crown that would make these cousins reluctant rivals, Princess Mary and Lady Jane Grey celebrated at least one Christmas together. Although each was deeply devout to their own religion, Mary to Catholicism and Jane to Protestantism, they enjoyed each other’s company. Jane’s mother, Frances, was Mary’s cousin and good friend and had invited Mary to spend time with them at Tilty, the Suffolk’s estate in Essex.

The king, Mary’s brother, Edward VI, spent lavishly on the court festivities that included feasting, masques, and an elaborate display by the Lord of Misrule. However, neither of Edward’s sisters chose to join him, Elizabeth remaining at Hatfield and Mary at Tilty. They may not have enjoyed the extravagant entertainments of the royal court, but the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk were renowned for their hospitality, so Mary and Jane, too would have been audience to musicians and actors in seasonal plays.

Mary enjoyed giving generous gifts, and she took the opportunity on Twelfth Night to give young Jane a necklace of pearls and rubies that may have been a bit ostentatious for the solemn girl. Neither of them could possibly imagine at that time that within two years they would be pitted against each other for the throne they would have felt certain Edward would occupy for many more years to come.

Follow the author on social media:

Official website

Twitter


Share

Comments

  1. Jayne Watkin says:

    Mary’s life was tragic and I feel like she has been misjudged!

  2. Kate Eminhizer says:

    There aren’t too many who are sympathetic towards Mary in her later years. The entire time me period makes for an excellent soap opera!

  3. I would love to read more about Mary!

  4. Hilary Bridewell says:

    very interested in reading more about Mary

  5. Kim jones says:

    Would love to read this, read a lot about Elizabeth but not so much about Mary.

  6. Madeleine Kinnane says:

    Poor Mary, so many troubles throughout her life ending in a false pregnancy that inevitably killed her. Things took such a dramatic change for her when her father met Ann Boleyn.

  7. Lisa Evans says:

    Sounds great such a sad character

  8. Mary a martyr….. I need to read this

  9. I am so excited for this opportunity! Thank you so much.
    Happy Holidays

  10. Orsolya Dunai says:

    Gimmie!! Pleasseeeeee haha

  11. Margaret Lewis says:

    Love to know more about Mary and her life and times.

  12. Michael Griffin says:

    always cast as the villain

  13. Reymie Lum says:

    I love wilcoxsons book about Elizabeth of York. I would love to learn more about her unfortunate granddaughter mary.

  14. Rikihana Watson says:

    I have been really wanting to read more on Mary I as I feel there’s more to her than “Bloody Mary”, this would be a really awesome book to read

  15. Rachael Dickson says:

    Oo, I’ve never read anything by this author and would love to read this!

  16. Deana Sanders says:

    I’ve grown to admire her tenacity/

  17. Superb!!

  18. Geneva Standbridge says:

    Another fascinating read I’d love to get my hands on!

  19. I would love to read this!

  20. Lynn Folliott says:

    So much more to learn of Mary…

  21. Laetitia Donoso says:

    I once read a book about Mary I and it changed my opinion on her. I would love to read this one as well.

  22. Can’t let this opportunity escape from my hands!

  23. Janet Taylor says:

    Always fascinated by Anne Boleyn, a wronged woman.

  24. Wendy Daemen says:

    This was a difficult choice, swince I adore Anne Boleyn! But I already read some books about her, so I know a fair deal about her life already. Mary on the other is a different story. I have one book about her and she intrigues me a lot!

  25. I think that Mary was lucky,in the end….her sister wasn’t.

  26. Mary has been my favorite Tudor for years now. I’m always open to a new book that portrays her live in a fair and understanding manner.

  27. Judith MacInnes says:

    I’d love to read this one!

  28. I am interested in learning more about Mary. Perhaps this book is a great start

  29. Nicola Dunn says:

    Looks good!

  30. My favorite reading genre, I love historical novels!

  31. I’m ready to start reading my next book…thanks for the chance to win!

  32. Katie Rodriguez says:

    Mary is such a complex character in History. She went through so much as a child and I think that definitely influenced her decisions and how she turned out! This book sounds really good!