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goannelies's review against another edition
3.0
Dunn schreef over bijna elke vrouw van Henry VIII een boek. Ik las eerder al de versie van Anne Boleyn en die vond ik verschrikkelijk teleurstellend. Toch pakte ik The May Bride op om haar een 2de kans te geven.
Dit boek is geschreven vanuit Jane Seymour, zelf vind ik dit de minst interessante vrouw van de 6, net daarom was mijn nieuwsgierigheid gewekt. Maar eigenlijk gaat het boek over een andere vrouw: Katherine, de eerste vrouw van Edward Seymour.
En door die insteek heeft Dunn mij tot het einde van het boek gebracht. 3/4de speelt zich namelijk af op Wolf Hall en gaat over het grote Seymourschandaal. Dunn geeft daar een draai aan die best realistisch is (je zag hem wel van ver aankomen ma bon). Het is wanneer Jane uiteindelijk naar het Hof vertrekt dat alles in elkaar zakt.
Want het is zo'n gemiste kans. Jane wordt hier neergezet zoals altijd: saai, bleek, niet bepaald fijn opgevoed of intelligent. Zij doet helemaal niks het hele boek lang. Behalve zichzelf in medelijden te wentelen.
Opeens draait haar karakter dan. Haar motief om uiteindelijk koningin te worden is plots wraak. Sorry maar deze Jane Seymour is gewoon door haar familie in de koning zijn bed geduwd. Als je anders wilt beweren - en het is mogelijk - moet je een totaal andere Jane neerzetten. Sweet Plain Jane is hier gewoon bound to obey, zoals haar motto zegt.
En Jane die zo veel medelijden heeft met Catherine Of Aragon, wanneer ze wordt weggestuurd, vindt het wel ineens ok dat ze Anne Boleyn onthoofden? Kom zeg, je moet een beetje consistent blijven in een karakterschets als schrijfster.
Dus ja de insteek is naar Tudorfictienormen verfrissend, over Katherine Filliol was bij mijn weten nog niet geschreven. Maar een geloofwaardige koningin neerzetten, daar slaagt Dunn nog steeds niet in.
Dit boek is geschreven vanuit Jane Seymour, zelf vind ik dit de minst interessante vrouw van de 6, net daarom was mijn nieuwsgierigheid gewekt. Maar eigenlijk gaat het boek over een andere vrouw: Katherine, de eerste vrouw van Edward Seymour.
En door die insteek heeft Dunn mij tot het einde van het boek gebracht. 3/4de speelt zich namelijk af op Wolf Hall en gaat over het grote Seymourschandaal. Dunn geeft daar een draai aan die best realistisch is (je zag hem wel van ver aankomen ma bon). Het is wanneer Jane uiteindelijk naar het Hof vertrekt dat alles in elkaar zakt.
Want het is zo'n gemiste kans. Jane wordt hier neergezet zoals altijd: saai, bleek, niet bepaald fijn opgevoed of intelligent. Zij doet helemaal niks het hele boek lang. Behalve zichzelf in medelijden te wentelen.
Opeens draait haar karakter dan. Haar motief om uiteindelijk koningin te worden is plots wraak. Sorry maar deze Jane Seymour is gewoon door haar familie in de koning zijn bed geduwd. Als je anders wilt beweren - en het is mogelijk - moet je een totaal andere Jane neerzetten. Sweet Plain Jane is hier gewoon bound to obey, zoals haar motto zegt.
En Jane die zo veel medelijden heeft met Catherine Of Aragon, wanneer ze wordt weggestuurd, vindt het wel ineens ok dat ze Anne Boleyn onthoofden? Kom zeg, je moet een beetje consistent blijven in een karakterschets als schrijfster.
Dus ja de insteek is naar Tudorfictienormen verfrissend, over Katherine Filliol was bij mijn weten nog niet geschreven. Maar een geloofwaardige koningin neerzetten, daar slaagt Dunn nog steeds niet in.
thinblueyankee's review against another edition
1.0
Horrible. Just horrible. On the front of the book it says "Marrying the king was Jane Seymour's destiny. And her revenge..." Did I miss the revenge part? This whole thing was about Jane crying and whining over her sister-in-law, and then 20 pages of her at court and eventually becoming queen...
bhavya25's review against another edition
3.0
3.25 stars
Oh, God! The English kings and queens and their scandals!
Oh, God! The English kings and queens and their scandals!
tharina's review
3.0
Well. Even in death, Jane Seymour is still being overshadowed. This isn't a story about Jane Seymour; rather, it is a sordid little speculation about Edward Seymour and Katherine Filliol through the eyes of Jane Seymour.
swifteagle's review
3.0
I very much enjoyed the focus on an earlier period in Jane Seymour's life, as opposed to the lead up to or her time as Queen. Much like in her 'Confession of Katherine Howard', it is refreshing to see the build up and viewpoint of another woman who comes across as a minor historical player into a key character in this fictional version. The book itself suffered from the same anachronistic issues as some of her other Tudor stories in terms of some of the language and attitudes, but overall was an enjoyable read.
I received a free copy of this book through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
I received a free copy of this book through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
sarah2696's review
3.0
I bought this book at Birmingham service station today whilst on the way to Stonehenge. I got through about 250 pages before we got there, and finished the rest on the way back.
I didn't give this book four or five stars because the plot just didn't seem thick or interesting enough for me, but it was a good book all the same. Good to kill time, and overall a good read, but there's something lacking, I just can't place my finger on what it is.
I didn't give this book four or five stars because the plot just didn't seem thick or interesting enough for me, but it was a good book all the same. Good to kill time, and overall a good read, but there's something lacking, I just can't place my finger on what it is.
lifeonmybookcase's review
3.0
I liked it but it felt like it had no point. It felt like a long prologue. The tag line was about her marriage to Henry VIII, but that was barely mentioned. A well written and interesting story though.
empressofeverything's review
3.0
Not a bad novel for a Tudor pre-court novel. I can almost guarantee it’s all speculation but it wasn’t bad.
meli65's review
4.0
This was most enjoyable, especially because the story I was expecting to hear didn't take place until the very end. I want to read more of her books -- she has a "you are there" style that helps me imagine what it was like for a human being to live in those times (sleeping four to a bed in the king's palace!).
whatsheread's review
Out of all of King Henry’s wives, Jane Seymour appears to be the least flashy. She didn’t have to fight for her marriage like Catherine of Aragon did. Her rise and fall was not spectacularly public and quick. She was not quickly set aside and made a “sister”. She was not executed. She was not accused of adultery, bigamy, witchcraft, or anything else. She married the king, bore him a son, the only one to survive infancy, and died two weeks later. While she is the only one to be buried next to the king and the only wife of his who received a queen’s funeral, for all the success of her marriage to the volatile king, her strict decorum and plainness makes her the least impressionable of all of his wives. However, Suzannah Dunn’s The May Bride attempts to change that by placing Jane in the spotlight.
Unfortunately, even in her own story, someone else steals the story. The May Bride is not so much about Jane as it is about Jane’s sister-in-law, Katherine Filliol, and Jane’s varied reactions to her as she settles into the family nest. Jane herself is very loyal, very quiet, and disdainful of scandal. However, Katherine proves to be just the opposite and constantly shocks Jane with her less controlled behavior and unorthodox approach to life. Jane becomes obsessed with Katherine’s unconventionality, simultaneously admiring her and judging her for it. The impression readers will get is that the family scandal around Katherine and Edward provided the framework by which she judged Anne Boleyn and modeled her own royal marriage.
However, as is often the case with relatively obscure historical figures, no one knows just how much of The May Bride is true, especially when it comes to the scandal that tears apart the family and sets Jane directly on her path to becoming the queen consort. A quick Internet search will show readers just how much of the story is pure speculation on the part of Ms. Dunn, and high percent of fiction in this historical fiction novel may cause some readers to pause. The accusations made in the book are damning without adequate proof, potentially causing readers further concern for the liberties taken in an effort to tell a good story. In that aspect, The May Bride bears comparison against Philippa Gregory’s Tudor canon. Both seem to have a fondness for sacrificing history for a more interesting storyline.
Thankfully, that is where the similarities end. Of the two, Ms. Dunn is a much better storyteller, and her depiction of life in Wolf Hall is vividly mundane and definitely more realistic. She shows the sheer volume of work involved with running a manor, and the list of Jane’s daily chores is daunting. More importantly, Ms. Dunn does not attempt to beautify anything. There is frank talk of fleas in bedding, dogs and their messes left around the property, chamber pots, and other functions not typically discussed in novels. It is a refreshing bit of honesty in a story that is a bit too eager to scandalize readers based on loose interpretations of what little facts exist.
For all its faults, The May Bride is still an entertaining novel. The descriptions of life at Wolf Hall alone are worth the read because they are among the relative few to detail the tedium of life on the land and the amount of work that goes into that life. Jane is naive, young, and self-righteous, but one finds this plays well into her future roles as lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon and queen consort after Anne’s demise. The amount of time Jane spends obsessing about her sister-in-law and the damage to the family may be tedious but still provides the background for getting to know this quiet, plain future queen consort.
Unfortunately, even in her own story, someone else steals the story. The May Bride is not so much about Jane as it is about Jane’s sister-in-law, Katherine Filliol, and Jane’s varied reactions to her as she settles into the family nest. Jane herself is very loyal, very quiet, and disdainful of scandal. However, Katherine proves to be just the opposite and constantly shocks Jane with her less controlled behavior and unorthodox approach to life. Jane becomes obsessed with Katherine’s unconventionality, simultaneously admiring her and judging her for it. The impression readers will get is that the family scandal around Katherine and Edward provided the framework by which she judged Anne Boleyn and modeled her own royal marriage.
However, as is often the case with relatively obscure historical figures, no one knows just how much of The May Bride is true, especially when it comes to the scandal that tears apart the family and sets Jane directly on her path to becoming the queen consort. A quick Internet search will show readers just how much of the story is pure speculation on the part of Ms. Dunn, and high percent of fiction in this historical fiction novel may cause some readers to pause. The accusations made in the book are damning without adequate proof, potentially causing readers further concern for the liberties taken in an effort to tell a good story. In that aspect, The May Bride bears comparison against Philippa Gregory’s Tudor canon. Both seem to have a fondness for sacrificing history for a more interesting storyline.
Thankfully, that is where the similarities end. Of the two, Ms. Dunn is a much better storyteller, and her depiction of life in Wolf Hall is vividly mundane and definitely more realistic. She shows the sheer volume of work involved with running a manor, and the list of Jane’s daily chores is daunting. More importantly, Ms. Dunn does not attempt to beautify anything. There is frank talk of fleas in bedding, dogs and their messes left around the property, chamber pots, and other functions not typically discussed in novels. It is a refreshing bit of honesty in a story that is a bit too eager to scandalize readers based on loose interpretations of what little facts exist.
For all its faults, The May Bride is still an entertaining novel. The descriptions of life at Wolf Hall alone are worth the read because they are among the relative few to detail the tedium of life on the land and the amount of work that goes into that life. Jane is naive, young, and self-righteous, but one finds this plays well into her future roles as lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon and queen consort after Anne’s demise. The amount of time Jane spends obsessing about her sister-in-law and the damage to the family may be tedious but still provides the background for getting to know this quiet, plain future queen consort.
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