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.

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Comments

  1. Rebecca Howells says:

    another interesting read

  2. Michae Griffin says:

    Amazing book

  3. Sam Fisher says:

    Time I read up on Mary

  4. Lots of intrigue to keep us reading…. Thank you

  5. Love to read this one

  6. Deanna Guadagno says:

    Interesting! Would love to read one about Mary!

  7. Nora Platt says:

    Always room for a book about Mary

  8. Wow! Another great book. Thank you so much for this

  9. Lynne Manton says:

    I would so love to win this book!

  10. The older I’ve gotten the more I realize how tragic Mary’s life was. This should be an interesting read.

  11. Patricia Avery says:

    It would be great to have this to read in the quiet downtime after Christmas 🙂

  12. This book has been on my TBR since its release was announced by the author. I would love to see her take on Mary I.

  13. Rebecca Brown says:

    Fabulous, another great choice!

  14. Wendy Ahl says:

    I would love to know more about what Mary was really like.

  15. Margaret Mallows says:

    Another great book

  16. Rich Tyler says:

    Looks great

  17. Carol Bell says:

    Tremendous!

  18. Nicholas Bootle says:

    great

  19. Another great one thank you

  20. Andrew Fearon says:

    Mary as Martyr? Would love to be convinced!

  21. Thank you for the chance to win

  22. I always think of Mary as harsh and rather miserable. This sounds like a more balanced perspective.

  23. Clive Howe says:

    A fascinating subject, and one I know very little about

  24. Alicia Mae says:

    Looks like a great read, thank you for the chance to win it!

  25. In truth, I’ve never read a novel about Mary I that I’ve enjoyed, so I’m putting my hopes on this one!

  26. Laura Barratt says:

    I would love to win this and learn more!

  27. Jo Glasspool says:

    This looks like a great read.

  28. Rie Tetley says:

    Would love to read this. Good luck everyone.

  29. Such a damaged lady, who in turn caused damage to others and her country

  30. Natalie Crossan says:

    would love to read x

  31. Simon Collinge says:

    Looks a great read, thanks 🙂

  32. I’d love to win this book, Mary I is such an amazing figure to study.

  33. Lesley Walsh says:

    Yes please, count me in

  34. MARILYN ANN HOLLEY says:

    It looks like a intriguing read.

  35. One of the most understood Queens

  36. Would love to know if “quite contrary”

  37. Michelle Bollig says:

    Looks like a wonderful read.

  38. Rachel Colclough says:

    Fascinating queen, looks like a great book.

  39. I would love to read this 🙂

  40. A tragic and misunderstood figure. The actions and treatment of her father shaped her charcter and not in a positive way.

  41. Of all the Queens, Mary is one of the most famous, her story is a sad one though.

  42. This sounds good. I have not read much on Mary

  43. It would be a real honour to own a copy of this interesting book. Please count on me. 🙂

  44. Lacey S Walter says:

    Would love to win this!

  45. Ashley Gosteli says:

    Love to learn more on Mary as she was on the throne

  46. Have read The Last Lancastrian, Love to read this one

  47. Would really like to read this 🙂

  48. I’ve heard good things about her books and I would love to read this.

  49. Nikki Hayes says:

    I’ve recently been reading Philippa Gregory’s Tudor Court novels and would love win a real history book about “Bloody Mary”.

  50. Lisa Misak says:

    Sounds really intriguing- hope to win this book