A superbly done novel that recounts the tragic story of Lady Jane Grey, who became Queen of England for nine days in 1553, and was executed in 1554. Told through the alternating voices of Jane's mother, Lady Frances Grey, and her mother-in-law, Lady Jane Dudley, the reader is provided with a well researched and smoothly written narrative of this ever fascinating episode in English history. Higginbotham, a historian and lawyer, has sifted through the existing historical records and sources, drawn her own conclusions, and has presented a compelling account that is at once familiar and yet gives fresh insights into Lady Jane's disastrous life and times.
Having read nonfiction works and other novels about Lady Jane Grey, I was curious as to how this author would impart the story, how different would it be. Telling it from the mothers' point of view proved to be an interesting way to tackle it, and as I read further, it became clear that she has created characters that are conflicted flesh-and-blood people, flawed humans who lived and loved and cried and experienced joy and suffered pain as real people. She convincingly dispels several myths: there are no totally one-note, monstrous, power-mad villains in this version (as the Duke of Northumberland is usually portrayed); Lady Frances is not a scheming child abuser here; the extraordinarily educated Lady Jane is more than a child victim, and Guildford Dudley is not a whining mama's boy. She has infused them with such emotion and vitality that I was completely engrossed, and read the story as if I'd never read it before. With her persuasive narrative, I could more fully understand Northumberland's motives, feel Frances' anguish over her husband Harry's actions, sympathize with Jane Dudley's heartbreaking choices, even like Guildford Dudley somewhat and like Lady Jane a little less. Scenes between the married couples are emotional and interesting, and her use of humor and ironic wit greatly adds to the appeal. With multitudes of characters, I feel she did an outstanding job in making so many stand out as personalities. Her treatments of King Edward VI, Katherine Brandon, Lady Margaret Douglas, and the Duchess of Somerset were wonderfully done. One scene that was very touching was the imagined meeting between the Duchess of Northumberland and the Duchess of Somerset at their husbands' graves--very realistic and satisfying without feeling artificial or maudlin. I very much liked her portrayal of Queen Mary; it seemed very true to life, quite natural, and in tune with what is known about Mary's life and reign. Higginbotham integrates historical events with ease, and I appreciated her inclusion of less well known family information in appropriate places: e.g., that Frances had a sister, Eleanor; that Margaret Clifford was also a Tudor heir; that Mary Grey was to marry another Grey (Arthur) as part of the Suffolk/Northumberland multiple marriage pact--which was totally ignored or changed in at least one other novel I read--and so forth. Details like that are interesting to me and can make or break a story sometimes for me, especially with an episode in history that I am so familiar with as a reader.
Although I enjoyed Alison Weir's Innocent Traitor very much, her version of the story is perhaps more the traditional version, which is fine, but it seems so black and white, with Jane the victim, her characterizations of the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk and Duke of Northumberland are as ambitious, power-mad individuals who will not let anyone, not even their own children, thwart their ambitions for the throne, and the reader feels little sympathy for anyone but the highly victimized Lady Jane. Higginbotham is perhaps more adept at shading her characters, bringing out both the good and the bad qualities they possessed, making them more human and more sympathetic and relatable to the reader. I felt less so with Weir's portrayals.
The author's research definitely is in evidence, she lists her main sources at the end of the book, and her author's note was an excellent read in itself. Any liberties she has taken with the story, as a fiction writer, she explains in her author's note. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it highly for its readability, factualness, wonderful characterizations, and for providing a fresh viewpoint on the story itself.
