Innocent Traitor: A Novel of Lady Jane Grey | 
| Author: Alison Weir
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  86 reviews
Sales Rank: 6762
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 432
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0345495349
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.92
EAN: 9780345495341
ASIN: 0345495349
Publication Date: November 6, 2007
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Product Description
I am now a condemned traitor . . . I am to die when I have hardly begun to live.
Historical expertise marries page-turning fiction in Alison Weir’s enthralling debut novel, breathing new life into one of the most significant and tumultuous periods of the English monarchy. It is the story of Lady Jane Grey–“the Nine Days’ Queen”–a fifteen-year-old girl who unwittingly finds herself at the center 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, for whom she is merely a pawn in a dynastic game with the highest stakes, Jane Grey was born during the harrowingly turbulent period between Anne Boleyn’s beheading and the demise of Jane’s infamous great-uncle, King Henry VIII. With the premature passing of Jane’s adolescent cousin, and Henry’s successor, King Edward VI, comes a struggle for supremacy fueled by political machinations and lethal religious fervor.
Unabashedly honest and exceptionally intelligent, Jane possesses a sound strength of character beyond her years that equips her to weather the vicious storm. And though she has no ambitions to rule, preferring to immerse herself in books and religious studies, she is forced to accept the crown, and by so doing sets off a firestorm of intrigue, betrayal, and tragedy.
Alison Weir uses her unmatched skills as a historian to enliven the many dynamic characters of this majestic drama. Along with Lady Jane Grey, Weir vividly renders her devious parents; her much-loved nanny; the benevolent Queen Katherine Parr; Jane’s ambitious cousins; the Catholic “Bloody” Mary, who will stop at nothing to seize the throne; and the protestant and future queen Elizabeth. Readers venture inside royal drawing rooms and bedchambers to witness the power-grabbing that swirls around Lady Jane Grey from the day of her birth to her unbearably poignant death. Innocent Traitor paints a complete and compelling portrait of this captivating young woman, a faithful servant of God whose short reign and brief life would make her a legend.
“An impressive debut. Weir shows skill at plotting and maintaining tension, and she is clearly going to be a major player in the . . . historical fiction game.”
–The Independent
“Alison Weir is one of our greatest popular historians. In her first work of fiction . . . Weir manages her heroine’s voice brilliantly, respecting the past’s distance while conjuring a dignified and fiercely modern spirit.”
–London Daily Mail
From the Hardcover edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 81 more reviews...
An engaging and moving account of England's tragic nine day Queen September 27, 2008
Lady Jane Grey, known as the nine days Queen of England, was the great grandaughter of Henry VII of England and daughter of Frances Brandon, Marchioness of Dorset Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk.
Born to parents who resented her for not having been born a boy, she suffers great cruelty and abuse at the hands of her mother and neglect from her father.
Her only love comes from her kindly nurse Mrs Ellen, and some kindly guidance from her tutors.
What comes across is the story of a brave, intelligent girl, wronged from the beginning and used as powerless pawn in a game beyond her control which leads to her death.
She never stood a chance.
It is heartbreaking and chilling to read of the abuse by her mother, and nevertheless we get to appreciate Jane's character. and that of her nurse, Mrs Ellen.
The book is told in various first person accounts, including that of her mother, Frances Brandon, Mrs Ellen, Jane, Queen Mary and the scheming and evil Lord John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland.
One cannot help but to admire Jane's powerful and immovable Protestant convictions while strongly sympathizing with the suffering visited upon her.
The story is well told, and I believe that Alison Weir holds up well to prolific historical novelists of British history such as Jean Plaidy, Sharon Kay Penman, Margaret George and Philipa Gregory.
The story follows through Jane's fleeting nine day reign to her tragic end.
I need to add that while some may point out that Elizabeth signed the death warrant for Mary, Queen of Scots, years later, this cannot be compared to Mary Tudor's warrant of death for Jane Grey. Mary, Queen of Scots schemed against her cousin until the very end while Jane Grey was totally innocent.
All evidence indicates that Jane's husband Guildford Dudley was indeed a snivelling bully.
I found this book very engaging and moving.
Very nice first fiction! September 25, 2008
If you are a fan of British history, particularly the Tudor period, you are probably familiar with this author. Alison Weir is a noted historian and proliferate writer of many well-received non-fiction books, including The Princes in the Tower and The Six Wives of Henry VIII.
Innocent Traitor is the author's debut fiction work and I'm pleased to report that she succeeds quite well. The story of Lady Jane Grey is a small footnote in British history. Upon the death of young Edward VI, Jane's family plotted to use her tenuous royal connections (Jane was Henry VIII's great-niece) to set Jane upon the throne of England. Her reign lasted just nine short days before the rightful heir to the throne, Queen Mary I, seized power. Jane was only fifteen years old and her story definitely falls into the "tragic" category.
Ms. Weir's novel tells Jane's story, flitting between several points of view, including Jane herself, her mother Frances Brandon, her nurse, Queen Katherine (Parr), Queen Mary I, and John Dudley, Jane's husband. In a lesser author's hands, the numerous and rapid changes in point of view could have resulted in a confusing, disjointed work. But Ms. Weir manages it fairly seamlessly and the different viewpoints come together for a more complete understanding of Jane and circumstances swirling out of control around her.
In the end, we are left with a compelling portrait of a very young, naive teenager who had the misfortune of being born into an overly-ambitious, scheming family who did not scruple to use this innocent girl to achieve their own ends. Tragically, it is Jane who must pay the ultimate price for their follies.
Alison Weir's second novel, The Lady Elizabeth: A Novel, was released earlier this year and covers Elizabeth I's early life up until she takes the throne. The paperback edition is set for release on November 4, 2008.
If you enjoyed Ms. Weir's writing and are interested in reading some of her non-fiction books, I've provided an Amazon list in order of publication. And keep an eye out for The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn, scheduled for publication in Fall of 2009 by Random House.
A Great Read for any History Buff! August 30, 2008
I enjoyed this book emmensly, happy that someone finally took up this subject. Seeing as Lady Jane Grey is hardly mentioned in most history books (grade school or college) I was delighted to finally dive deep into the tale of the tragic figure, though a novel, is very close to the facts. The characters (there are many) really breath life into the book, as if you are hearing them speak and act right in front of you. The Tudor era, so intriguing and unforgettable, cannot be displayed any better and I give my hats off to Miss Weir for her first volume of fiction. However, I was under the intention that Jane and Guildford, though arranged in marriage, were actually quite fond of one another after the wedding took place. I thought I read it somewhere or saw it on some history documentary. So I would have given the book five stars if there had been a little more of a romance between them. All in all, I recommend this to anyone who loves Tudor history or history in general
 Delightful read! August 17, 2008
Not too long of a book, but you probably won't want to put it down. It brings a story to life from English history that we don't hear that much about, and yet, it seems like it is a story that needs to be told. You will enjoy this book if you like historical fiction of the Henry VIIIth variety!
Great Addition to Royal History Collection August 14, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I purchased this book, because my curiosity was piqued at the small but significant part she had in Phillipa Gregory's The Queen's Fool. She was thrown on the crown upon the death of King Edward, in hopes to prevent the Catholic Princess Mary from ascending. This book tells of her trying child hood and her cold calculating mother. Her entire childhood was preparing her for deceit. I cried with her when she was forced to marry and her times in tower holding steadfast to her faith. To some she may appear weak, but one must consider the bull crap women dealt with back then. I say she had balls and they shown in the end. I highly recommend this book to complete your royal fiction libary.
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