Cultural depictions of Mary I of England

Mary I of England has been depicted in popular culture a number of times.

Literature

• Marie Tudor (1833) by Victor Hugo.
• The Tower of London (1840) by William Harrison Ainsworth.
• Queen Mary (1875) by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. A theatrical play.
• The Prince and the Pauper (1881) by Mark Twain. The novel includes a depiction of Mary before her accession: "When his royal 'sister,' the grimly holy Lady Mary, set herself to reason with him against the wisdom of his course in pardoning so many people who would otherwise be jailed, or hanged, or burned (...) the boy [pauper pretending to be King Edward VI] was filled with generous indignation, and commanded her to go to her closet, and beseech God to take away the stone that was in her breast, and give her a human heart." The short appearance had a considerable influence on her negative image, given the enduring popularity of Twain's work. His depiction of her as a cold and cruel person seems to be connected both to Twain's outspoken atheism and to the strong anti-Catholic prejudice prevalent in American society at the time of writing.
• Young Bess (1944), Elizabeth, Captive Princess (1948), and Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain (1953) by Margaret Irwin. A trilogy focusing on the early years of Elizabeth I of England and her relationship with Mary and Philip II of Spain.
• Daughter of Henry VIII (1971) by Rosemary Churchill. Features Mary's struggles against her father Henry VIII of England.
• The Ringed Castle (1971) by Dorothy Dunnett. Part of the Lymond Chronicles. The novel includes a sympathetic portrayal of Mary's marriage and pregnancies.
• I Am Mary Tudor (1971), Mary the Queen (1973), and Bloody Mary (1974) by Hilda Lewis. A trilogy focusing on Mary's life from the cradle to the grave. The books include a "psychological exploration of Mary's character", a sympathetic character who grows "increasingly paranoid and deluded" in her later years.
• Queen's Lady (1981) by Patricia Parkes.
• In the Shadow of the Crown (1988) by Eleanor Hibbert. A historical novel focusing on the Tudor Queens.
• In the Garden of Iden (1997) by Kage Baker. A science fiction novel, involving time travel.
• In The Time Of The Poisoned Queen (1998) by Paul C. Doherty. Mary I dies of poisoning, immortal Nicholas Segalla investigates a historical mystery with many suspects.
• Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor (1999) by Kathryn Lasky. The novel is part of the juvenile historical-fiction series The Royal Diaries. Mary is a prominent character and is portrayed as a bitter rival to her half-sister Elizabeth.
• Mary, Bloody Mary (1999) and Beware, Princess Elizabeth (2001) by Carolyn Meyer. Both novels are part of the Young Royals series. The first depicts Mary's teenaged years, the second Elizabeth's teenaged years. Both attempt to explore their experiences at the time and how said experiences shaped their later lives.
• Kissed by Shadows (2003) by Jane Feather. Conclusion of the Kiss Trilogy, a "complex historical drama" series set in the 16th century.
• The Queen's Fool (2004) by Philippa Gregory. The novel depicts Mary's rise to power and reign in a very sympathetic light, and makes an effort to revise her long-lasting horrific image. It shows her through the eyes of a devoted and loving servant - without hiding the horror of the persecutions.
• Innocent Traitor (2007) and The Lady Elizabeth (2008) by Alison Weir. Two novels covering the adversarial relationship of Mary with Lady Jane Grey and Elizabeth I.
• The Queen's Sorrow (2008) by Suzannah Dunn. The novel attempts to show the other side to Mary, as seen through the eyes of Rafael, a member of the entourage of Philip II of Spain.
• Dracula and the Bloody Mary: A Tragicomedy (early 21st century) by Santiago Sevilla. A theatrical play, published in Liceus El Portal de las Humanidades. (Liceus.com). Features Count Dracula in the courts of Edward VI of England and Mary I.

Film and television

Mary has been played on screen by:

• Jeanne Delvair in Marie Tudor (1917). Film adaptation of a Victor Hugo story.
• Gwen Ffrangcon Davies in Tudor Rose (1936), about Lady Jane Grey
• Yvette Pienne in Pearls of the Crown (1937).
• Ann Tyrrell (uncredited) in Young Bess (1953)
• Sheila Allen in The Prince and the Pauper (1962), a three-episode television adaptation of the Mark Twain story. Broadcast as part of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color.
• Françoise Christophe in Marie Tudor (1966). Kathy Fraise also depicts Mary in her childhood. Film adaptation of a Victor Hugo story.
• Nicola Pagett in Anne of the Thousand Days (1969), in which she made a brief appearance in a scene showing Catherine of Aragon's death; in reality, Mary was not present at this event as she was living far away attending her half sister Princess Elizabeth
• Verina Greenlaw as a girl in the first episode ("Catherine of Aragon") of the BBC TV series The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1971)
• Alison Frazer as an older woman in the third episode ("Jane Seymour") and sixth episode ("Catherine Parr") of The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1971)
• Daphne Slater in the BBC TV series Elizabeth R (1971)
• Inge Keller in Die Liebe und die Königin (1977). Film adaptation of a Victor Hugo story.
• Jane Lapotaire in Lady Jane (1986)
• Mary MacDonald in Kings and Queens of England Volume I (1993)
• Kathy Burke in Elizabeth (1998)
• Lara Belmont in the Granada Television serial Henry VIII (2003). The role was s small one and like in Anne of the Thousand Days had the character of Mary present at her mothers death bed
• Joanne Whalley in the TV miniseries The Virgin Queen (2005)
• Bláthnaid McKeown as a young girl in the first season of the TV series The Tudors (2007) and Sarah Bolger in her teens and early twenties in the second, third and fourth seasons (2008–2010). This portrayal of Mary and her life drew positive reviews with Bolger garnering praise for her tremendous performance.
• Constance Stride in The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
• Miranda French in The Twisted Tale Of Bloody Mary (2008), an independent film from TV Choice Productions^[1]

Audio

• Queen Mary appears in the Doctor Who audio play "The Marian Conspiracy", set in 1554, played by Anah Ruddin. The story focuses on the religious tensions of her reign and involves an attempt to assassinate the queen by English Protestants and French Catholics.

Footnotes