Plain Jane is a historical fiction of the life of Jane Seymour, third wife to Henry VIII and mother to Prince Edward. This book, the third in a series about the wives of Henry VIII, covers an accounting of Jane's life from early childhood, until her death after the birth of the Prince.
Jane grew up knowing that her prospects of marriage were slim due to her very plain looks. This brought on greater turmoil for Jane when she overheard her parents talking about her, and planning her future, while she was only 9 years old. As she listened to them calling her plain and talking about the possibility of turning her over to a convent, as they feel that they will not be able to marry her off due to her looks, Jane is horrified, but resolves to rise above her other siblings in spite of her lack of beauty.
As Jane grows older, she is presented with the opportunity to become a lady-in-waiting in Queen Catherine's court. Jane is mesmerized, however dismayed, by the chicanery of life at court. As she stands in the shadows, she watches as Queen Catherine and Anne Boleyn vie for the King's affections.
Jane is forced to bear Anne Boleyn's mockery and the wrath of her temper after the King's marriage to Catherine is declared illegitimate and he marries the bewitching Anne. It is during this time that Jane sees and begins to understand the inner child in King Henry. During Henry and Anne's tumultuous relationship, Henry begins to look to Jane for comfort as she gives him the tranquility and peacefulness that he seeks. Henry begins to secretly court Jane while he is planning the demise of his current wife and Jane finds herself with a deep inner-struggle between her loyalty to King and Country and her own lowered self-esteem and respect.
After the King's execution of Anne Boleyn, Henry and Jane become engaged and are quickly married in what is considered the King's first legitimate marriage. Jane understands that if her relationship with the King is to be successful, she must be obedient to the King's wishes and battles with the knowledge of her tenuous position as Queen and that if she does not continue to please Henry and provide him with an heir to the thrown, she will be cast aside as her predecessors had been.
After approximately 9 months of marriage Jane becomes pregnant, with what she is sure is the son that will save the questionable future of the throne. Only 2 weeks after the birth of Edward, as Jane is dying of a fever, she has a vision of Anne Boleyn laughing at her yet again. However as Jane points out that she has fulfilled her duty to King and Country, and that it is her blood, not Anne’s, that will carry on in the royal lines, Jane is left with the last laugh over Anne.
I have mixed feelings regarding this book. With my love of history, I find it hard to get drawn in to a fictional accounting of a true, historical person. I enjoyed the author's accounting of Jane's self, what she stood for, and the inner turmoil that she had to endure during the drastic changes her life had taken. However, while the author has followed the general timeline of events during this era, it was hard to overlook the true character of Henry VIII and how the author had portrayed Henry as a kinder, gentler, and nobler man than what he had actually been. I also found it difficult to stay interested in the story due to the "sugar-coating" of the characters. It made the plot move along more slowly, whereas I feel that showing more of Henry's temper, his maniacal ways, and the turmoil his actions had created would have thickened the plot and drawn the reader in a bit more. While the beginning of the book was achingly slow, the tempo of the book did pick up a bit as the storyline progressed. Overall, it's a snoozer and I couldn't wait to finish the book.
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Publisher: Jove (June 27, 2006)
ISBN: 0515141550
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