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emakay's review against another edition
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Murder, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
elementarymydear's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Lady Jane Grey is often a footnote in our stories of the Tudors, so it was a pleasant change to read her own story, and from Alison Weir no less!
I went into this expecting to read Lady Jane Grey’s life story and while that was the case, I wasn’t expecting the amount of political intrigue and scheming that her life was inevitably caught up in. It hadn’t occurred to me that, as Henry VIII’s niece, she would be in and around court and aware of all of the drama from Anne of Cleves onwards, and aside from Jane’s own story it was really interesting to read royal soap opera from her peripheral perspective.
📚Read this and more reviews on my blog!📚
I really liked the characterisation of Jane; she had very little agency in her life but she had a quiet strength to her, and when she did have the opportunity to make her own decisions (that is, in her brief stint as queen) she was firm in her decisions and intentions. I also really like the quite complex portrayals of characters like Henry VIII, Thomas Seymour and Catherine Parr, figures who we tend to have a two-dimensional view of.
That being said, some of the characters – particularly Jane’s parents, and the Duke of Northumberland – felt almost comically evil, with no redeeming features. This may be true to life, and they certainly don’t have reputations as particularly kind people, but it would have been nice to have a bit more depth to them.
Although it was really good to have a broader depiction of the goings on in Tudor court during Jane’s life, it did sometimes feel like it was spread a little thin. The whole book was in first person from multiple perspectives – I didn’t count but it must have been at least eight or nine, perhaps more with even the executioner being thrown in there at the end. I would have preferred to have fewer perspectives, or read in third person, especially when new perspectives were being added even in the final pages.
Overall, this was a very absorbing, enjoyable and interesting look at the least-known and shortest-lived Tudor monarch, and felt like a fresh perspective on life in the Tudor court.
I went into this expecting to read Lady Jane Grey’s life story and while that was the case, I wasn’t expecting the amount of political intrigue and scheming that her life was inevitably caught up in. It hadn’t occurred to me that, as Henry VIII’s niece, she would be in and around court and aware of all of the drama from Anne of Cleves onwards, and aside from Jane’s own story it was really interesting to read royal soap opera from her peripheral perspective.
📚Read this and more reviews on my blog!📚
I really liked the characterisation of Jane; she had very little agency in her life but she had a quiet strength to her, and when she did have the opportunity to make her own decisions (that is, in her brief stint as queen) she was firm in her decisions and intentions. I also really like the quite complex portrayals of characters like Henry VIII, Thomas Seymour and Catherine Parr, figures who we tend to have a two-dimensional view of.
That being said, some of the characters – particularly Jane’s parents, and the Duke of Northumberland – felt almost comically evil, with no redeeming features. This may be true to life, and they certainly don’t have reputations as particularly kind people, but it would have been nice to have a bit more depth to them.
Although it was really good to have a broader depiction of the goings on in Tudor court during Jane’s life, it did sometimes feel like it was spread a little thin. The whole book was in first person from multiple perspectives – I didn’t count but it must have been at least eight or nine, perhaps more with even the executioner being thrown in there at the end. I would have preferred to have fewer perspectives, or read in third person, especially when new perspectives were being added even in the final pages.
Overall, this was a very absorbing, enjoyable and interesting look at the least-known and shortest-lived Tudor monarch, and felt like a fresh perspective on life in the Tudor court.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Death, and Child abuse
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