Author: Beverley Adams
Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography
Publisher: Pen and Sword History
Book Release Date: 2024
Pages: 224
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: Explores the life and tragic fate of Lady Jane Grey, the nine-day queen of England, examining her role amid the political chaos following King Edward VI's death and her contested claim to the throne.
Lady Jane Grey, the nine-day queen is considered to be one of the most tragic characters in English history. In July 1553 when King Edward VI died at the age of just 15 years old, the Tudor dynasty fell into chaos. The king had no legitimate male heirs and was determined his half-sisters Mary and Elizabeth would not inherit his throne, despite his father Henry VIII stating in his will that they should. We are led to believe that on Edward's instructions his cousin Lady Jane Grey was to be proclaimed queen. But who was she? Was she the innocent young girl that our history books tell us she was, or a religious fanatic with the aim of keeping Mary off the throne and England Protestant? Or was she nothing but a pawn to men in the game of power and politics, abused by her parents to marry against her will all for a crown she did not want? This book looks into her life from her early years in relative seclusion at the family home at Bradgate through to her tragic end on the scaffold at the Tower of London, executed on the orders of her cousin Queen Mary. What was her place within the Tudor royal family, was she ever entitled to claim the throne of England, and do we even recognise her as a true queen today?
My Review: Lady Jane Grey is famous for being queen of England for nine days. She was the great-granddaughter of King Henry VII of England. Her grandparents were Mary Tudor, the Dowager Queen of France, and Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk. She was the niece of King Henry VIII of England. She was third in line to the throne. When King Edward VI of England died, he named Lady Jane Grey as his heir. However, her reign ended when Mary Tudor ousted her from the throne and was crowned queen of England. This biography retells the sad life of Lady Jane Grey.
Lady Jane Grey has often been seen as a sympathetic figure. She was a pawn and was manipulated by the men around her. Her father and his ally, John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland, used her hoping to rule through her when she became Queen. Mrs. Adams suggested that while Lady Jane Grey was initially reluctant to become queen, she may have viewed her ascendancy to the throne as God’s purpose to further the Protestant faith. She opposed Queen Mary I because of her Catholic beliefs and was a staunch Protestant. The book also showed that Lady Jane Grey was rebellious and stood up for her beliefs. Even though she was a strong-willed woman, she was still a pawn and could not control the events around her. Therefore, she was a tragic victim and was forced to die because she was once proclaimed queen of England.
Overall, I thought this book was not a scholarly biography of Lady Jane Grey and was amateurish. There is only one primary source. The rest consists of twenty-three secondary sources. Therefore, there was little research in this biography. There were also no footnotes in this book. Because it was not scholarly researched, it was a rehash of what other historians have already published. Mrs. Adams also makes a lot of assumptions that were not based on evidence. I am very disappointed with this biography because it was very low quality. I did like that Mrs. Adams stated that Lady Jane Grey should be counted as one of England’s monarchs because she was proclaimed queen by the Privy Council of England. Still, Lady Jane Grey deserves a better biography than what this book has given us. This book may be for you if you are interested in reading about the Tudors. However, I’d suggest you skip this book and read Nicola Tallis’s Crown of Blood or Eric Ives’s Lady Jane Grey instead! You will not miss out on anything!
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
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