From the inside cover: This the story of Lady Jane Grey-"the Nine Days' Queen"- a fifteen year-old girl who unwittingly finds herself at the enter of the religious and civil unrest that nearly toppled the fabled House of Tudor during the sixteenth century.The child of a scheming father and a ruthless mother, Jane Grey is born during the harrowingly turbulent period that will see the demise of Jane's infamous great-uncle, King Henry VIII. Vexed at not having a male heir, Jane's abusive parents connive to use their intelligent, dutiful young daughter as a pawn in a dangerous dynastic game. But when the premature death of Jane's adolescent cousin- and Henry's successor- King Edward VI thwarts their original ploy, Jane unwittingly finds herself at the center of the struggle for supremacy.
Unabashedly honest and exceptionally intelligent, Jane possesses a strength of character beyond her years that equips her to weather the vicious storm. Although she has no ambitions to rule, preferring to immerse herself in books and relgious studies, she is forced to accept the crown, and by so doing sets off a cataclysm of betrayal and tragedy.
My Review:
Ms. Weir clearly researched the character of Jane Grey but I am not sure she is as good of a fiction writer as she is a non-fiction writer. All the characters seemed to have almost the same personalities and thought processes. I did however find the book very engaging. The character Jane was truly a tragic figure. She was verbally and physically abused as a child and then forced as a teenager to marry a young man that she did not love or even care for only to be sexually abused. This book deals with harsh situations so I would not recommend it for the teenager. Overall I enjoyed this book but its not one of my favorites by this author.
Rating 4/5.
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