The tragic history of Queen Mary I and her brief reign of terror against Protestants in sixteenth century England—includes illustrations.

When Mary Tudor, eldest daughter of Henry VIII, succeeded to the throne of England in 1553, she enjoyed a degree of popularity rarely seen on the accession of a British monarch. Yet at her death only five years later, she was so reviled by her people that she was posthumously awarded the sobriquet Bloody Mary. The change of public opinion was not without reason.

During her short reign, Mary restored the Catholic faith to England and had over 280 Protestant martyrs burned at the stake. Noblemen like the Duke of Northumberland, would-be queens like Lady Jane Grey, churchmen like Thomas Cranmer and bishops Latimer and Ridley, all fell victim to Mary’s fires or the executioner’s axe.

In Bloody Mary, historian Phil Carradice investigates the backstory behind the queen’s violent loathing for the religion her father established, the unfulfilled potential of her reign, and the needless bloodshed that became her tragic legacy.