His polemic against female rulers had negative consequences for him when Elizabeth I succeeded her half-sister Mary I as Queen of England; Elizabeth was a supporter of the Protestant cause, but took offence at Knox's words about female sovereigns. Her opposition to him personally became an obstacle to Knox's direct involvement with the Protestant cause in England after 1559. Mary I died soon after "The First Blast" was published. When Elizabeth I came to power shortly after, she blamed Calvin and the city of Geneva for permitting "The First Blast" to be published. Members of the Genevian congregation were searched for house to house, were persecuted and exiled. In 1558, the queen prohibited "importing of heretical and seditious books" into England. After Knox revealed himself as the author of "The First Blast", through a letter to Elizabeth I, he was refused entrance to England. Despite Knox's efforts to keep the blame for "The First Blast" on himself, his followers and other Protestants were punished.