Innocent Traitor: Alison Weir

Life for girls in the sixteenth century was never an easy thing. For Lady Jane Grey, being born a girl and the eldest to the Marquess and Marchioness of Dorset, life would not be easy at all; it would harsh, recriminatory, and painfully short. In Innocent Traitor author Alison Weir gives a fictional accounting of the remarkably-intelligent little girl who would be "nine days Queen of England" before her life was ended for political expediency.

Lady Jane Grey was the great-niece of King Henry VIII and therefore, nominally in line for succession. After the death of Henry, the throne passed to his son Edward, a staunch Protestant. If anything were to happen to Edward the throne would pass to Princess Mary and the country would be returned to Mary's beloved Catholicism. In a bid for power and in an effort to block the return of Catholic influence Jane's parents, working in league with King Edward’s closest advisor, lay out a daring plan for Jane to become queen when it becomes apparent that Edward is dying. Unfortunately for Jane, she has no wish to be queen. The brilliant-minded little student of Protestant theology knows that the crown should not be hers and she fights the forces working for and against her. All of Jane's refusals go for naught however and the sixteen year old girl will rein for nine days before Mary Tudor reclaims her throne and exacts a high price for the treason that was committed.

The story of Lady Jane Grey is, to me, one of the saddest in the history of the European monarchy. Jane Grey was an amazingly learned child who held very definite views about God and religion, in a time when women usually didn't receive any real education. I know her story well; it doesn't have a happy ending and yet combined with Weir's beautiful narrative style I actually found myself weeping at the end. It's very rare that a book makes me cry but this one did. The author has done a lovely job of capturing the voices of the individuals who moved in and out of the story, bringing everything to life with an amazing attention to detail. While it may not end with "Happily ever after..." it is definitely worth reading.
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Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books; Reprint edition (November 6, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0345495349
ISBN-13: 978-0345495341
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