Product Description

Alison Weir, our pre-eminent popular historian, has now fulfilled a life's ambition to write historical fiction. She has chosen as her subject the bravest, most sympathetic and wronged heroine of Tudor England, Lady Jane Grey. Lady Jane Grey was born into times of extreme danger. Child of a scheming father and a ruthless mother, for whom she was merely a pawn in a dynastic power game with the highest stakes, she lived a live in thrall to political machinations and lethal religious fervour. Jane's astonishing and essentially tragic story was played out during one of the most momentous periods of English history. As a great-niece of Henry VIII, and the cousin of Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I, she grew up realize that she could never throw off the chains of her destiny. Her honesty, intelligence and strength of character carry the reader through all the vicious twists of Tudor power politics, to her nine-day reign and its unbearably poignant conclusion.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1961 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

From the Publisher
The outstanding debut novel from one of Britain's most successful popular historians.

From the Inside Flap
Alison Weir, our pre-eminent popular historian, has now fulfilled a life's ambition to write historical fiction. She has chosen as her subject the bravest, most sympathetic and wronged heroine of Tudor England, Lady Jane Grey.

Lady Jane Grey was born into times of extreme danger. Child of a scheming father and a ruthless mother, for whom she was merely a pawn in a dynastic power game with the highest stakes, she lived a live in thrall to political machinations and lethal religious fervour.
Jane's astonishing and essentially tragic story was played out during one of the most momentous periods of English history. As a great-niece of Henry VIII, and the cousin of Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I, she grew up realize that she could never throw off the chains of her destiny. Her honesty, intelligence and strength of character carry the reader through all the vicious twists of Tudor power politics, to her nine-day reign and its unbearably poignant conclusion.

From the Back Cover
‘Alison Weir provides immense satisfaction. She writes in a pacy, vivid style, engaging the heart as well as the mind.’ Amanda Foreman, Independent

Customer Reviews

A powerful and moving story

Poor Lady Jane Grey. This is a hard novel to read. The writing is excellent, the story is interesting, its well paced and keeps the read enthralled. The only hard bit is that if you know your history then you know the fate of poor Lady Jane.

Saying that I didnt know much about her life but this book filled in that gap and added lots of info of life in Tudor England from midway through Henry VIII's reign to the beginning of Bloody Marys. So if you are fascinated by the Tudor period then you will love this novel. And if you are not moved by the ending then you are harder than me!!

Fantastic!!!
I have been a fan of Alison Weir's historical work for a while and have thoroughly enjoyed this book, her first novel. The reader gets so much depth from the book about the culture and lives of people in the mid 1500's...and you are aware that everything is pretty much as accurate as it can get!

I'm so pleased this book was about Lady Jane Grey and all the plots and characters that shaped her destiny. The reader gets completely drawn in, and it's very hard to put this book down. Although the end of Jane's life is well known to history fans, Alison Weir still manages to build the tension beautifully.
There is an interesting "historial note" chapter at the end of the book to explain which parts were historically accurate in the book and which bits were changed for the purpose of the novel.
EXCELLENT book!

A MUST BUY!!!!
This is a beautiful novel detailing the tragic life of one of the most compelling women in English history, the Lady Jane Grey. It tells the whole story of her life from her birth right through her nine day reign to her untimely death. It is written mainly through the eyes of all the people in her life who shaped her fate. We see events told through her parents, her nurse, the Duke of Northumberland, Queen Mary to name but a few, yet most of the story comes from Jane herself.

I was a little unsure at the start as I don't normally like books written in the present tense, although the author's high standard of writing soon won me round, and I realized how instrumental this was in building up the tension towards the end. My heart was actually pounding in my chest in the end scenes as I got lost in the drama of the moment.

Fans of historical fiction will love it.

Congratulations Ms Weir on a wonderful story, made all the more poignant because it is true.