An Excellent Book into a Intresting Woman
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Having known very little about the main character this book is based on, Lady Jane Grey, it was a refreshing and intresting read. I've been a fan of Philippa Gregory's book's but this surpasses them by leaps and bounds.
The characters are very much three dimension each with flaws. A previous reviewer had made the comment that Jane was too perfect, which I didn't find. To me she was flawed in the fact that she was too dogmatic in her views on religion, but this in itself was, at least to me, a form of rebelion against her parents. It was their disappointment in Jane and their ambition for power that ultimately led to her downfall.
The author has obviously done her homework and research and by intertwining known facts with certain key points in history that Jane 'Could' have witnessed, it brings it live.
I also began to fell for Queen Mary I, who even though knew that in order to give the country security of her marriage to Philip of Spain, and therefor give a heir to the throne, Jane had to die, Mary gave Jane many chances to live. First by trying to get her to convert and then to see if she was with child.
By the time that Jane's execution was drawing close, I found I could no longer read this book at bed time. I found myself getting very emotional at the scene.
All in all, an excellent book and I can't wait for the next one, which is sitting in my to-read pile.
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good but nothing special
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Ok so I really liked the whole concept of this story, as soon as I got the book I thought it was some thing special. I enjoyed the layout of being able to see the events taking place from various perspectives. But I feel the book and the protagonist is weak. I felt that at points Jane was too perfect and that it seemed like Alison weir had forgotten she was just a girl of 16 who would have had other hopes beyond religion and studies although I have not researched Jane so I would not know but I simply could not see her as a human. I did however enjoy her mother who seemed like a much more interesting and well developed character. I also disliked Jane's "wedding night" I felt the whole scene was unnecessary and very depressing, at points it became unbearable to read which really put me off finishing the rest of the book. I feel the problem with this book is that Jane lacked faults, she did not seem to me to be a real person who did actually live, she seemed more like a saint and I felt I simply could not relate to this character. I also felt some chapters were rather boring and I found myself skipping a few pages.
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First Class Historical Fiction
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Alison Weir is a much read and much respected historian with a string of non fiction books to her name. She is widely known for her biographical books about British Royalty. She lives in Surrey with her two children, John and Kate.
Innocent Traitor is the first novel that Alison Weir has written and I am not sure whether it was a conscious effort on her part or a brave move to write about one of the lesser known characters of English history. Whatever the reason the author has brilliantly captured the feel of the Tudor period. A time when the country was in turmoil following the death of Henry VIII.
Lady Jane Grey was the victim of scheming and dominant parents who used her like a pawn in a game of chess. Although of royal blood Lady Jane was used by many of the powerful men of the time who were solely interested in feathering their own nests. The throne of England was there to be taken by those who dared to chance their arm on installing a young girl whose claim to the English throne fell far behind that of the rightful heirs. A young girl who was to pay the ultimate price allowing herself to be manipulated, albeit against her better judgment. For some of the most powerful men in the kingdom, virtually anything was preferable to Mary, with her strict catholic religion that would bring the country close to open civil war.
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Some of the best historical fiction I have read
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If you asked some one to name the first Tudor Women they could think of you would probably hear names like Elizabeth I, Anne Boleyn or Mary I. In many ways I think Lady Jane Grey is a very overlooked character, perhaps because she was executed at the tender age of sixteen, which was why I was glad to see that she was chosen as a historical fiction debut by an acclaimed historian.
Poignant, intruiging and ultimately tragic 'Innocent Traitor' spans Lady Jane Grey's dramatic childhood from her birth to frustrated, ambitious parents to her truly heroic dignity at the scaffold. Lady Jane Grey's story is told from many perspectives; her own, her ruthless mother's, her doting nurse's, that of Katherine Parr (who adopted her for a short time), that of Mary I (who is shown to have more humanity than I would have expected) and that of the scheming Duke of Nothumberland. The novel is a tribute to the strength and resourcefulness of character of Tudor women apparently helpless in a bloody, male-dominated system. However as a slight weakness I found that having so many narrative voices sometimes made the novel harder to follow and Jane's voice especially, was a little plaintive at times. Still, I would recommend this to any readers of historical fiction and look forward to the 'Lady Elizabeth', Alison Weir's next work of historical fiction.
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Great Historical novel
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I'm Leicester born and bred and have always been fascinated by the ruins at Bradgate park and now I know much more about Lady Jane Grey. What an excellent book, well written, excellent characterisation, I can't wait for her next one!
If you like reading about what it must have been like in these times this is a definite must. I'm a fan of Philipa Gregory and would say that this supasses even her books.
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