Writing Mary I is the second volume of the recently published series edited by Schutte and Hower. This volume continues from the first in exploring the life and legacy of Mary I, England’s first crowned queen regnant. As with the first volume, the editors state their thanks to the contributors for their work under the cloud of the pandemic. This is both a gracious act of thanks, and a reminder to the reader that the completed piece was conducted when access to libraries and archives was impossible or extremely difficult. The second volume is divided into easily readable chapters each focusing on a specific theme. The introduction begins with Mary’s Guildhall speech which forms the basis of this volume. The queen’s emphasis as a mother serves as a useful framework for an exploration into contemporary writings about Mary I, but also a consideration of how she was viewed by subsequent generations across a range of media. This is the first attempt to marry both the documentation with the media in portraying Mary I.
The first section covers the relationship between Mary and Eustace Chapuys, the Imperial Ambassador, and how it was subsequently understood. Derek Taylor opens with his investigation into the writings of the Imperial ambassador Eustace Chapuys, and Chapuys’ relationship with Princess Mary, before her accession to the throne. Taylor recalls the story familiar to Tudor historians: of the ambassador becoming the face of the so-called Aragon faction during the King’s Great Matter, and later, as the Lady Mary’s link to her cousin Emperor Charles V before she became queen. Despite a few minor oversights regarding typos, that chapter provides an excellent opening for the volume. Taylor emphasises throughout the volume that for an accurate understanding of the past, third-party correspondence and private communications must not be neglected in spite of their potential bias.
William Robinson then explores the depiction of Mary I and Chapuys on screen, particularly television. This chapter is rather short, due to the lack of materials to use. As Robinson discusses, Mary and Chapuys are usually secondary characters within Tudor drama, if they are credited an appearance at all. The focus of the chapter is on Showtime’s The Tudors since this is where Mary and Chapuys are most present. Robinson’s work offers a very useful contribution to scholarship on this period, a prompt for academics to engage with modern (public) understandings of this period: it is mainly through such television dramas that the majority of the public begin their Tudor experience post-education. Robinson rightly critiques several authors and producers who do not include Mary I in their cast list, due a vision of history where Henry VIII passes the Tudor dynasty to Elizabeth I. One possible addition to Robinson’s discussion (had time allowed) would be the current series on Starz, Becoming Elizabeth. Romola Garai’s portrayal of Mary is perhaps the best portrayal of the future Tudor queen as Princess, and has provided a more constructive view of Mary to a large audience. It is possible that some of Robinson’s critiques over Marian casting could be revised in the light of this subsequent production.
The second theme within this volume is Mary’s place in Europe. As is often forgotten, Mary I was not only queen of England; after her marriage to Philip II in 1554 she became queen consort of Naples, while, in 1556 after Charles V’s abdication, she and Philip became rulers of Spain, the Spanish Netherlands and the other territories of the Spanish empire. Samantha Perez’s contribution focuses on the role of Venice and her ambassadors during the Marian regime. Though the Venetian ambassadorial reports have been frequently consulted when examining the politics of the reign, Perez instead focuses on the individuals who wrote these reports and illuminates the reader on how trustworthy these accounts truly are. Perez introduces the reader to the Venetian ambassadors present in Marian England, with a brief biography and family tree. The chapter then goes on to discuss the relationship between Venice and the Habsburgs, providing an important context that is often consigned to the footnotes in traditional Anglophone writing. This chapter is a unique contribution to the understanding of foreign insights on Marian queenship. Perez’ chapter is illuminating and of great benefit to Tudor scholarship as well as to the general readership.
The following chapters by Darcy Kern and Kelsey J. Ihinger as well as Tamara Pérez-Fernández continue to develop the reader’s understanding of Mary in an international context. Kern’s chapter focuses on the queen’s Mediterranean status while Ihinger examines Mary as a Spanish queen. As a queen consort in these lands, Mary did not have the same power as her husband, but would still have had a role if she had chosen to. However, Kern is quick to suggest that Mary failed to control the narrative surrounding her since she never visited her husband’s realms and allowed herself to become a mysterious figure across the Channel. However, as Kern reminds the reader, Philip had his own issues with his kingdoms, in particular Naples, which may explain why there is an absence of Marian involvement in the kingdom. Kern also considers Mary’s Spanish image and her portraits are briefly discussed. Kern believes Mary had no need to establish herself as a Mediterranean queen because it was already acknowledged; in contrast, Ihinger argues that despite an impressive beginning, the queen was quickly forgotten after her death. Unlike her husband’s attempts to showcase himself as king of England, Mary did not need to symbolise her role for it had already been cemented via the marriage. However, due to this lack of active promotion, the queen’s image was vulnerable after her death. Pérez-Fernández ends this theme with a discussion of Mary’s image in television; this continues to hint at the ‘bloody’ reputation despite the queen having a more youthful appearance in recent Spanish media.
The final three chapters focus on Mary’s portrayal in film and literature. Emilie M. Brinkman’s chapter discusses the use of clothing to portray the queen as a fanatic and as the evil sister; in particular, Brinkman notes the differences between Kathy Burke’s Mary compared to Cate Blanchett’s Elizabeth in the Shekhar Kupur’s Elizabeth. One is old and dark, the other is young and bright; the message cannot be clearer. Brinkman also examines the historiography of Marian clothing and the accounts examined by scholars including Bethany Pleydell and Alison Carter. Though the chapter is well meaning, Brinkman borrows heavily from the studies previously mentioned. The chapter also lacks a convincing conclusion which does leave the reader slightly underwhelmed.
Alexander Samson’s piece, discussing the portrayal of Mary in Dorothy Dunnett’s The Ringed Castle is a welcome addition to the final segment. Though Samson plays for a literary audience his chapter is easily readable, and explores how the image of Mary is used to portray the Catholic narrative. Stephanie Russo’s contribution ends this volume and acts as a conclusion of this work. Following from Samson’s discussion Russo considers the differing images of Mary which still maintain today; she is presented as ‘bloody’ and ‘saintly,’ ‘fearful’ and ‘warrior.’ Russo concludes with the hope that the Mary paradigm of ‘Bloody Mary’ created by Protestant propaganda will be replaced. Overall, this is a useful addition to Schutte and Hower’s previous volume. It is felt that some of the chapters could have been more comfortably placed in the previous volume—such as Perez and Kern’s discussion. However, their inclusion in the present volume does not distract from the vivid discussions published. There are a few signs that proofreading was not rigorously reinforced. Yet, despite some minor editorial issues, this volume is highly recommended if one wishes to understand the historiography of England’s first crowned queen regnant, and the ways in which she is remembered in the present.
