Mary Tudor: a Life (review)

Short notices 187 development in Mediterranean art 3rd-7th century (1977). As well as some minor updating by David Buckton this third edition has 16 of the plates in colour. Ann Moffatt Department of Art History A N U , Canberra Loades, David M., Mary Tudor: a Life, rpt Oxford, Basil Blackwell, 1992; paper, pp. xiv, 410; maps, 39 plates; R.R.P. $AUS32.95 [distributed in Australia by Allen & Unwin]. Biography is an awkward art. Its ultimate interest lies in the exploration of human character, motive, and inspiration. But where the evidence for the individual scrutinised is almost purely formal and relates to actions partially at least dictated by protocol and symbolism, disentangling the personal from the iconographic is difficult, if not impossible. David Loades has carefully reexamined the direct evidence for Mary's life and produced a useful survey with some helpful appendixes. H e has steered his account of her early years successfully, briefly establishing an intelligible context for the events in which she was involved but over which she had no control. Because it ultimately accepts the evidence of the ambassadors and other interested parties, the study is, however, basically conventional in its interpretation both of her character and of the events of her adult life in which she may have had some initiative. He accepts as genuine her apparent deference to her Spanish relatives, particularly Charles V. H e believes that her actions were directed by conscience rather than policy and implicidy criticises this. Had he investigated possible means of penetrating the iconographical surface, he might have found more satisfactory explanations for the apparent inconsistency of Mary's capacity to take decisive action at times of crisis. If the evidence is read as effective role-playing within the formal limits permitted a female, a different image and a more convincing interpretation could emerge. Sybil M . Jack Department of History University of Sydney ...