MARY TUDOR: THE FIRST QUEEN

Linda Porter (Portrait, £20)

The last big history book I read was an account of the short life and reign of Edward VI, so Linda Porter's groundbreaking new study of his half-sister and immediate successor, Mary Tudor, seemed a logical follow-on choice.

Not that Edward ever intended Mary to take the throne, having attempted before his death to write her out of the succession in favour of Jane Grey, rightly fearing that Mary would attempt to undo his religious reforms.

But Grey occupied the throne for just nine days, before ending up in the Tower as popular sentiment came down firmly in favour of Mary.

The dramatic events of July 1553 serve as the mid-point in Porter's interesting account of Mary's life. Born in 1516, the daughter of Henry VIII and his first wife, Katherine of Aragon, Mary's fate was inextricably linked with religion, politics and the high affairs of state.

Effectively illegitimised as Henry progressed the divorce' and the break with Rome, Mary's attempts at building bridges with her father met with little success as, internally exiled, she was prevented from seeing her mother or even attending Katherine's funeral in 1536.

Despite any indications to the contrary, Mary remained firmly wedded to Catholicism. On seizing the throne, among her pre-eminent objectives was the re-establishment of links with Rome and the restoration of Catholicism in England.

Mary died childless in 1558, and 450 years on England's first queen is recalled first and foremost as Bloody Mary', responsible for the deaths of an estimated 300-odd protestant dissenters - the Oxford Martyrs among them.

Perhaps history has been a little unkind, though, as more than anything else Mary emerges here as a product of troubled times. Whatever the case, this knowledgeable and balanced reappraisal of her life and achievements is long overdue.