Lady Jane Grey: Nine Days Queen

Publisher and industry reviews

UK Kirkus review

The short and tragic life of Lady Jane Grey, Queen of England for just nine days, before she was imprisoned - and later executed at the tender age of 16 - is a topic that lends itself well to popular history books. A sympathetic heroine surrounded by a cast of machiavellian plotters and pretenders to the throne, with some love interest thrown in: it is easy to see why Jane's story has caught the imagination of people down the ages. Alison Plowden does a good job of capturing the essence of Lady Jane Grey, presenting her as an astute, intelligent and strong-willed character, rather than the malleable slip of a girl perceived by many historians. Jane, a great-granddaughter of Henry VII, via his daughter, Mary Queen of France, had the misfortune to be born third in line to the throne at a time when the seismic shock of the Reformation was gripping England, and the power-brokers behind the scenes were jostling for position. Edward VI had succeeded his larger-than-life father, Henry VIII, yet because he was just ten years of age when he was crowned, and because sons of the Tudors had a poor reputation for surviving to manhood, the issue of accession was very much on the minds of the aristocracy and minor royals. It was thus with one eye on the throne that the Suffolk family contrived to ensure her hasty marriage to the son of the family, Guildford Dudley, soon after which Edward became ill and died. Jane was always at great pains to make clear that she had never demanded the crown, and she was appalled by the idea that her new husband - whose family she disliked - were plotting, through her marriage, to usurp the Tudor dynasty. Plowden makes much of Jane's intellect and fierce commitment to the Protestant cause, emphasizing the extent of her education at a time when this was most unusual for women, well-born or otherwise. The attractive, sharp-witted young queen emerges as a surprisingly modern character, all too well aware of the dangers of her position. When popular opinion swung towards Mary I, just over a week after Jane's coronation, Jane relinquished her position with dignity, yet declined to disavow her Protestantism. The following year, she was executed, her place in history secure. Plowden's accessible style clearly analyses the motives of the key characters in her story which, after all, is the story of Britain as much as it is the biography of one woman. (Kirkus UK)

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