Mary, Queen of France (Tudor Saga, #9) By Jean Plaidy

Legendary historical novelist Jean Plaidy brings to life the story of Princess Mary Tudor, a celebrated beauty and born rebel who would defy the most powerful king in Europeâ€"her older brother.

Princess Mary Rose is the youngest sister of Henry VIII, and one of the few people whom he adores unconditionally. Known throughout Europe for her charm and good looks, Mary is the golden child of the Tudor family and is granted her every wish.

Except when it comes to marriage. Henry VIII, locked in a political showdown with France, decides to offer up his pampered baby sister to secure peace between the two mighty kingdoms. Innocent, teenage Mary must become the wife of the elderly King Louis, a toothless, ailing man in his sixties. Horrified and furious, Mary has no choice but to sail for France. There she hones her political skills, bides her time, and remains secretly in love with Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk. When King Louis dies, after only two years of marriage, Mary is determined not to be sold into another unhappy union. She must act quickly; if she wants to be with the man she truly loves, she must defy the laws of church and state by marrying without her brother’s permission. Together, Mary and Charles devise a scheme to outwit the most ruthless king in Europe and gain their hearts’ desire, not knowing if it will lead to marital bliss or certain death. Mary, Queen of France (Tudor Saga, #9)

This is my first Jean Plaidy novel, and while i plan to read more, I am a little disappointed in the story telling in this particular novel. Perhaps it is because this has been written before my generation (( am 24 and an avid historical fiction reader), but i found the writing a little bland. The story is so sensational and scandalous but she writes it too quickly, obviously conforming to a publisher's limit of pages. I found this book to read out this way... Mary falls in love, Mary gets married away from lover to King of France, Mary marries her real love after King dies. I just wanted more drama. I understand that this isn't a Danielle Steel novel but I just wanted more juiciness. 9780709124122 3.75 stars

Mary Tudor was Henry VIII’s younger sister. She was originally betrothed to Charles of Castile when they were both young (Charles much younger than Mary). In the meantime, at home in England, she fell madly in love with Henry’s best friend, Charles Brandon (and he with her). She thought she was free when the betrothal was broken, but, even worse, she was instead promised to Louis XII of France, an old man. She fought for a chance to wed Brandon instead, though she was still required to go to France and marry Louis.

This was quite good. There were a couple of dryer parts, most notably the history of the succession in France. I don’t know much about French royalty, so it was new to me, but not knowing any of the names, my mind tended to wander. That was only a brief part in the middle, though, just to introduce Louis and his court and rival for the throne. Mary, Queen of France (Tudor Saga, #9) This book is about Mary Tudor, youngest sister of King Henry viii. It begins with Mary’s childhood and her betrothal to prince Charles which ended after many years.
The author described very nicely the relationship between siblings- Mary & Henry - that more than likely was close to the truth.

It was interesting to see how in a time when princess and princesses were married for political purposes, Mary has the courage to defy even her own brother to keep his promise. It is known that he had promised her that if she married King Louis from France - who was 30 years older than her- and widowed she’d marry whom she wanted afterwards. Three months later after her marriage she becomes a widow and marries in secrecy to Charles Brandon. The author also takes us onto the life of King Louis’ successor Francois and the big influence his mother and sister had over him.

I have to address the fact that this cover is quite misleading. The cover from the book I read was not like this one in GR. This is a good story, sticks mostly to history facts known and gives a good idea on what could’ve shaped and influenced these interesting historical characters. Mary, Queen of France (Tudor Saga, #9) This is my first Jean Plaidy book and I liked it very much. I'm a fan of historical fiction, especially royal histories. Princess Mary Tudor was the younger sister of Henry VIII, one of the lesser known characters of the Tudor dynasty. Jean Plaidy made her story interesting and compelling and kept me entertained to the end. It seemed a very quick read indeed and I look forward to reading more of Jean Plaidy's work. English This book wasn't quite what I was expecting. About half the book was dedicated to King Loius of France and the events that led up to the eventual betrothal of Mary to Louis. I found this section to be a bit boring and, at times, confusing because a lot of characters were introduced briefly while detailing the French line of succession. I felt that part of the story could have been omitted and more time devoted to Mary's time in the French Court and her time after returning to England...a lot of things seemed to be just skimmed over. The other Plaidy novels I have read seemed to have been more devoted to the title character and better executed. This book did make me wonder more about Charles Brandon...in other works I've read he's been portrayed as the rake who was happy to be with whomever he was with in the moment, but Plaidy paints him as a devoted suitor and husband to Mary and a devoted father. I think this is a decent novel of Mary and her love for Henry and Charles.
253

I'm surprised more HF has not been written about the romance between Mary Tudor (Henry VIII's sister) and Charles Brandon (the Duke of Suffolk, elevated from humble origins because of his friendship with Henry). It's a compelling story that often gets glossed over. In this novel, Jean Plaidy does a great job of developing Mary Tudor's character, as well as showing why her marriage to the French king Louis was such a big deal (hence, the entire section that focused on the French court and Francois I's childhood). I first read this several years ago and have read it multiple times since. 253 At the start, I wasn't to keen on this book. Mary was acting in a way that didn't make sense considering she must have been brought up as a Princess and groomed her entire life for a marriage with an overseas Prince. She also kept banging on about how amazing her brother was and how much she wished she could have someone like him to the point it was getting a little weird. I always wasn't keen on how it was written, would have preferred Mary's POV, however I understood the choice not to do this when I started reading section two.

Then the book changed completely and took us to France with the family of Francois. I then got very confused as the book explained the family ties to the French Royal family but the more I read, the more it became clear and I started to really enjoy the book.

Although Mary was only the Queen of France for 3 months and then was free to marry Charles Brandon, it seems she then spent the rest of her life worried about what Henry might do to them. I googled Mary halfway through reading this because I had thought she was Queen for a few years but no it was months. She also died at 37 which is so young.

I've never really given much thought to Henry VIII sisters before but I would now like to find out more about Margret and her life. This is also the first time I've come across a historical fiction book that focused on Mary's life. I would like to read more. 253 I enjoyed the first 2/3 of this one but after that it became very sappy. Hardcover Way too short and written in a very distant long-ago-story fashion. I wish Charles Brandon's first two marriages and his entire personality were explained more. I wanted to know his motivations. I wish more was done with Mary's fear of Henry, and her non-fear of the French royal family. I never felt like I got in the character's heads. I never felt the fear, the joy, pain or love. I didn't feel like I was there. It was more of a historical re-telling of the facts.

As I was reading, this story seemed like it could have been so epic. If Mary was as power-hungry as the rest of the royal families (both England and France), she could have changed the world; produced an heir for France, etc. It's really interesting how she left everything to be with Brandon, who seemed only to marry her for her connections and his personal gain of power.

But overall this is a good synopsis of Mary, and good to add to your Tudor collection. I just wish more could have been done with it. English I liked the book but I felt the chapters were a little long.I was a bit confused when it went into the background of the young king of france, Francois.I don't think I realized until half way into the chapter
that they were speaking of the Dauphin not the current king.
But those were my only issues.I think I have become more interested in Mary Tudor than I was before reading it
and the book just made me want to find out more about her relationship with Charles Brandon and her brother Henry VIII. Hardcover