Lady Jane Grey, is one of the most elusive and tragic characters in English history. In July 1553 the death of the childless Edward VI threw the Tudor dynasty into crisis. On Edward's instructions his cousin Jane Grey was proclaimed queen, only to be ousted 13 days later by his illegitimate half sister Mary and later beheaded. In this radical reassessment, Eric Ives rejects traditional portraits of Jane both as hapless victim of political intrigue or Protestant martyr. Instead he presents her as an accomplished young woman with a fierce personal integrity. The result is a compelling dissection by a master historian and storyteller of one of history’s most shocking injustices.
For most, the name of Lady Jane Grey means the 'nine days queen', the child who was used as a pawn in the power politics of the Tudor realm by both her parents, the Suffolks, and Northumberlands. Alison Plowden's new book tells the tragic story of Jane's life, and death, but also reveals her to be a woman of unusual strength of conviction, with an intelligence and steady faith beyond her years. Told with Alison's usual skill and adeptness, this is a story which will stir compassion in the hearts of the hardiest readers. It also gives us insight into the least known of Henry VIII's wives, Katherine Parr.
Following Lady Jane Grey's journey from the deadly intrigues of her childhood that led inexorably through to her trial and execution, historian Nicola Tallis unravels the grim tapestry of her life along the way.
The tragic story of Lady Jane Grey who was Queen of England for nine days in July 1553. Jane grew up watching her cousins in training as heirs to the throne, little imagining that by a twist of fate she would one day be crowned. But this is Tudor England where nobody plays fair, and even a queen isn't safe from those who wish her harm.
Published information on Lady Jane is scant and contradictory; here, primary sources including JaneOCOs own letters illustrate the drama of a high-born, high-minded and intelligent young lady sacrificed on the pyre of ambition by her kin. The teenaged Lady"
Although she ruled England for less than two weeks, Lady Jane Grey has been admired for generations for her courage and faithfulness to the gospel--even though she was executed for treason at the age of sixteen. In this addition to the Christian Biographies for Young Readers series, Simonetta Carr tells Lady Jane Grey's story of intrigue and explains its context: the tumultuous politics of Reformation England. Maps, photographs, and beautiful illustrations decorate the narrative, helping young readers visualize what life was like in sixteenth-century England. More importantly, they will learn the story of an extraordinary young girl who understood that she was saved only by the mercy of God and the merits of the blood of Jesus Christ.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Leanda de Lisle brings the story of nine days’ queen Lady Jane Grey and her forgotten sisters, the rivals of Elizabeth I, to vivid life in her fascinating biography.”—Philippa Gregory Mary, Katherine, and Jane Grey–sisters whose mere existence nearly toppled a kingdom and altered a nation’s destiny–are the captivating subjects of Leanda de Lisle’s new book. The Sisters Who Would Be Queen breathes fresh life into these three young women, who were victimized in the notoriously vicious Tudor power struggle and whose heirs would otherwise probably be ruling England today. Born into aristocracy, the Grey sisters were the great-granddaughters of Henry VII, grandnieces to Henry VIII, legitimate successors to the English throne, and rivals to Henry VIII’s daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. Lady Jane, the eldest, was thrust center stage by greedy men and uncompromising religious politics when she briefly succeeded Henry’s son, the young Edward I. Dubbed “the Nine Days Queen” after her short, tragic reign from the Tower of London, Jane has over the centuries earned a special place in the affections of the English people as a “queen with a public heart.” But as de Lisle reveals, Jane was actually more rebel than victim, more leader than pawn, and Mary and Katherine Grey found that they would have to tread carefully in order to avoid sharing their elder sister’s violent fate. Navigating the politics of the Tudor court after Jane’ s death was a precarious challenge. Katherine Grey, who sought to live a stable life, earned the trust of Mary I, only to risk her future with a love marriage that threatened Queen Elizabeth’s throne. Mary Grey, considered too petite and plain to be significant, looked for her own escape from the burden of her royal blood–an impossible task after she followed her heart and also incurred the queen’s envy, fear, and wrath. Exploding the many myths of Lady Jane Grey’s life, unearthing the details of Katherine’s and Mary’s dramatic stories, and casting new light on Elizabeth’s reign, Leanda de Lisle gives voice and resonance to the lives of the Greys and offers perspective on their place in history and on a time when a royal marriage could gain a woman a kingdom or cost her everything.
The House of Tudor changed the history of Britain forever. The Tudor monarchs have been immortalised in novels and films for generations. However, the true history of this incredible dynasty is often romanticised and fact is overlooked. Alison Plowden's accessible and beautifully written history traces the family's turbulent reign of power from Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch, who fathered the great Henry VIII. Henry VIII went onto revolutionise England's armed forces and implement controversial reforms in England. Yet, he is perhaps most remembered for his tumultuous love life and the fates of his six wives, including Anne of Boleyn, who sparked an international crisis. He fathered four known offspring, including Mary I and Gloriana - Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen, who reigned for 44 years in what is known as England's Golden Age. This book not only re-tells the familiar stories of these famous monarchs, revealing the truth behind the scandals; but it also recounts the history of the less well-known Tudor monarchs: Edward VI, Lady Jane Grey (the uncrowned Queen of England), and those who came directly before and after them - Edward IV and James I. If you read on history of the Tudors, make it this one - you are sure to be enthralled and surprised by how the facts are often more incredible than the fiction surrounding them.
“Fascinating . . . Alison Weir does full justice to the subject.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer At his death in 1547, King Henry VIII left four heirs to the English throne: his only son, the nine-year-old Prince Edward; the Lady Mary, the adult daughter of his first wife Katherine of Aragon; the Lady Elizabeth, the teenage daughter of his second wife Anne Boleyn; and his young great-niece, the Lady Jane Grey. In this riveting account Alison Weir paints a unique portrait of these extraordinary rulers, examining their intricate relationships to each other and to history. She traces the tumult that followed Henry's death, from the brief intrigue-filled reigns of the boy king Edward VI and the fragile Lady Jane Grey, to the savagery of "Bloody Mary," and finally the accession of the politically adroit Elizabeth I. As always, Weir offers a fresh perspective on a period that has spawned many of the most enduring myths in English history, combining the best of the historian's and the biographer's art. “Like anthropology, history and biography can demonstrate unfamiliar ways of feeling and being. Alison Weir's sympathetic collective biography, The Children of Henry VIII does just that, reminding us that human nature has changed--and for the better. . . . Weir imparts movement and coherence while re-creating the suspense her characters endured and the suffering they inflicted.”—The New York Times Book Review
