Innocent Traitor

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There does not seem to be that much difference in tone between Katherine Parr and Frances Brandon in tone. One problem I encountered was that, in every respect, the historical Jane comes across at every stage of her life as much older than her years, and I feared that portraying her in this way–which was essential if the book was to make sense–would stretch my readers’ credulity to the limit. Non sapremo mai se questo sarebbe bastato a salvarla, però la Weir traccia un quadro ansiogeno di quei giorni, dove bastava un po' di tosse e un parto per morire, dove il corpo femminile era merce di scambio per ottenere titoli e favori, dove ogni battuta era passata al vaglio di informatori e dove bastava un pettegolezzo anonimo a corte per essere rovinati. Weir's knowledge of the background is immaculate, and she revels in the freedom of fiction without sacrificing historical fact. Con uno schiocco di dita si accendono roghi e volano teste, anche fra chi ha dentro di sé il sangue dei Tudor.

Innocent Traitor - Alison Weir - Google Books Innocent Traitor - Alison Weir - Google Books

There were obvious gaps in her understanding when she was very small, and no doubt she was forced to grow up quickly, but there was little difference between her voice at four years and at sixteen. As a great-niece of Henry VIII, and the cousin of Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I, she grew up to realize that she could never throw off the chains of her destiny. Of course, you'd have to be a rock not to feel for Jane's situation or to dislike Frances Brandon, Jane's mother but I did not feel the characters speaking to me.King Henry VIII meanwhile, at the time the future Edward VI was born, was 46 years old, on his third marriage after almost 30 years of married life, and had only two surviving acknowledged but illegitimated daughters, and it was important to him to have a son because it was unprecedented for a woman to be accepted as ruler of England in her own right and the young Tudor dynasty could still be overthrown. What does come across in this account is Jane's integrity: she may have been a pawn of more powerful people in terms of being placed on the throne, but here she has to be convinced that there is some justification for it first, and it is her courage in holding fast to what she believes to be right that is the ultimate reason for her death at the hands of a reluctant Mary.

Innocent Traitor - Historical Novel Society Innocent Traitor - Historical Novel Society

I loved the nurse Mrs Ellen who, unlike her parents, actually loved Jane and was with her from a very early age right up until the moment of her death. This taught me so much more about the tragic life of Lady Jane Grey and the kind of strong and fierce person she was. Lady Jane Grey (1537-1554) was born during the reign of Henry VIII to ambitious parents who trained her for an important position. Most of this novel is true; Alison Weir has only added bits here and there for flavour, and these have all been recorded in a little blurb at the end of the book. I am listening to the audio version, which I got because it features three of my favorite readers (Davina Porter, Jill Tanner, and Bianca Amato), and the reading is excellent, but possibly not worth the trouble for a dull and unbelievable book.Above all, I’ve always found Jane an intriguing character, for she was not always a sympathetic heroine, but a feisty and dogmatic teenager who could be uncomfortably candid, outspoken, and uncompromising. Weir also includes the nonsense about the Duke of Northumberland poisoning Edward VI and then smothering a lookalike and switching the bodies so that the “king’s corpse” would have no evidence of foul play. In this novel the King has passed away and the son from Queen Jane Seymour, Prince Edward becomes King, however Edward is a sickly boy and doesnt live past fifteen and never fathers an heir. It presents the story of the young Jane’s life from the perspectives of those closest to her, through the major, known events of her all too short life. For those unfamiliar with British royal history, fifteen-year-old Lady Jane was named queen of England for nine days in July 1553.