Jean Plaidy - Mary, Queen of France: The Story of the Youngest Sister of Henry VIII

“You cannot leave us.”

She shook her head and smiled at him.

“Charles, do you remember the chapel at Clugny?”

“For as long as I live I shall remember.”

“Do you remember how I told you that there would be no regretting … as long as we two should live?”

“I remember.”

“Charles, kiss me … for the last time, kiss me.”

He did so.

“There are no regrets, my love,” she said.

He stood up and stared disbelievingly down at her. He could not believe that the vital, beautiful Mary Tudor had left him forever.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Aubrey, William Hickman Smith, The National and Domestic History of England

Batiffol, Louis (translated by Elsie Finnimore Buckley), National History of France

Chamberlin, Frederick, The Private Character of Henry the Eighth

Fisher, H.A.L., The Political History of England (1485–1587)

Froude, James Anthony, History of England

Gairdner, James (editor), Memorials of Henry VII

Green, Mary Anne Everett, Lives of the Princesses of England

———, Letters of Royal and Illustrious Ladies of Great Britain

Guizot, M. (translated by Robert Black), History of France

Hackett, Francis, Henry the Eighth

———, Francis the First

Herbert, Edward, Lord, History of England under Henry VIII

Hudson, Henry William, France

Jackson, Catherine Charlotte, Lady, The Court of France in the 16th Century

Salzman, L. F., England in Tudor Times

Stephens, Sir Leslie, and Sir Sidney Lee (editors), The Dictionary of National Biography

Strickland, Agnes, Lives of the Queens of England

Wade, John, British History

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JEAN PLAIDY is the pen name of the late English author E. A. Hibbert, who also wrote under the names Philippa Carr and Victoria Holt. Born in London in 1906, Hibbert began writing in 1947 and eventually published over two hundred novels under her three pseudonyms. The Jean Plaidy books—ninety in all—are works of historical fiction about the famous and infamous women of English and European history, from medieval times to the Victorian era. Hibbert died in 1993.

Questions for Discussion

1 Mary and Henry maintain a subtle balance of power between them. Although Henry has the last word by virtue of being king, Mary has enormous emotional sway over him. Where do you see Mary affecting Henry’s decisions or intervening to calm situations that would otherwise prove disastrous? When does Henry first offer a glimpse of just how dangerous his temper can be, even with Mary?

2 Henry is so eager to become king that he joyfully anticipates his own father’s death: “Every direction in which he turned he found adulation, and very soon—it could not be long because the old man was coughing and spitting blood regularly now—he would be the King of this country.” And as Mary contemplates her brother Arthur’s death, she muses, “perhaps it was all for the best … for Henry was surely meant to be King.” Are Henry and Mary vultures or pragmatists? Do you think their attitude is a necessary product of life in the English court, or are they particularly cold-hearted?

3 Mary’s arrival in France as wife to Louis is a hard blow to “the trinity” of François, Marguerite, and Louise. Yet, ironically, it is François who is chosen by the king to greet Mary when she first arrives. How does this first meeting go? Does François have a soft streak, or is he a consummate actor? Mary asks herself, “What was it he was attempting to offer? Commiseration? Consolation?” What is the answer?

4 Early in his rule, Henry faces a series of setbacks. The death of a newborn son, a mutiny by English soldiers in France, and the treacherous teaming-up of Ferdinand of Spain and the Emperor Maximilian, all send Henry into his first serious slump. What changes do you notice in Henry from this point on? How do they affect his rule, and how do they impact Mary’s plans? How does his wife, Queen Katherine, accidentally add insult to injury?

5 The friendship between Charles Brandon and Henry is a vehicle for the most intense dramatic tension in the novel. What method does Charles find most effective for stroking the king’s ego and keeping him happy? Charles recognizes “a certain primness in Henry’s character”; what does he mean by this?

6 Why does Pope Alexander agree to dissolve Louis XII’s marriage to Queen Jeanne? What is in it for him?

7 Despite Charles Brandon’s passionate love for Mary, he seems to be quite content to adapt into whichever romantic union happens to come along. He is betrothed and then un-betrothed to Anne Browne, married to Margaret Mortymer, married to Anne Browne, betrothed to Elizabeth Grey, and comes very close to becoming betrothed to Margaret of Savoy. He is enthused at the beginning of each relationship, seeing it as a new lease on life, but soon becomes apathetic. What do you make of Charles? Is he fickle or just searching for true love? What makes the relationship with Mary stick?

8 From his cushy position as political prisoner in Henry’s court, the Duc de Longueville writes to Louis in France, describing Mary in glowing terms and reporting Henry’s deep love for her. What is the significance of this letter? What mischief is Longueville attempting to stir up? Does he succeed? Why does he find Henry’s court “so interesting and amusing to watch”?

9 Louise is tormented by the idea of Mary getting pregnant with the King’s child. Since she knows that Mary is desperately unhappy in the marriage, why doesn’t she encourage Mary to take a lover, thus creating a possibility that Mary will be discovered and ousted from the French court? What does Louise fear might happen?

10 What do you make of King Louis? He can see both the wild flirtation that goes on between Mary and François and the blatant love that Mary harbors for Charles Brandon. And yet, while it would be in keeping with the times to have her arrested for treason, he quietly suffers Mary’s indifference. He goes so far as to muse, “My poor little one … it is time I was dead.” Is he naïve, kind, self-loathing? What events in his life have led him to this point?

11 When Mary leaves France, she tells Marguerite that “she would always remember their friendship with pleasure,” despite the fact that Marguerite has spent most of Mary’s reign as queen trying to get rid of her. Is this Mary’s version of diplomacy? Has she recognized and sympathized with the trinity’s ambitions? Where else do you see Mary smoothing feathers, politically and personally?

12 A theme of silencing runs throughout the novel. In various ways, Henry silences Mary, Louis silences Jeanne, Mary silences Anne Boleyn, etc. Where else do you see this theme at work?

13 François’s first love is the devout, mysterious Françoise. Who is she? Why does she reject him? This is the first refusal François has ever experienced in his gilded life; how does he take it? Who suggests that he simply abduct and seduce Françoise against her will?

14 Men may rule France, but there is fierce competition among the women behind the scenes as they struggle to put their chosen men on the throne. Louise and Anne of Brittany blatantly wish death upon each other’s children as they jockey for position. Is there any female solidarity to be had in this novel? Where do you see the men picking up on this female competition and using it to their advantage? Which female character do you find most sympathetic?

15 At the age of eighteen, Mary calls a meeting with Thomas Wolsey, Bishop of Lincoln; Sir Ralph Verney, the Princess’s Chamberlain; the Earl of Worcester; and the Bishops of Winchester and Durham. She asks them to plead her case to the king, and help dissolve her betrothal to the Prince of Castile. How does she get away with this meeting without facing Henry’s wrath? Do they help her? What international debacle releases her from this dreaded betrothal?

Beloved Classics from the Godmother of Historical Fiction—Available Once More!

The Lady in the Tower

1-4000-4785-4 $12.95 paperback

NOW AVAILABLE

Anne Boleyn tells her story as no one else could, revealing the woman Henry VIII risked his throne to wed and the cruel fate she met.

The Rose Without a Thorn

0-609-81017-0 $12.95 paperback