Innocent Traitor

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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.” AW: Because I knew it well, I was aware that it had all the elements of a compelling and poignant tale, and I needed a story that was not too long. 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. I wanted the challenge of writing about her in such a way as to excite my readers’ compassion, rather than having them pity her only on account of her youth and her being used as the tool of ambitious men. Essentially, Weir shoves in every scrap of rumour and gossip from the era. Whether she did this out of sheer bad research or purposely to make things "juicier", I don't know, but it doesn't improve the pedestrian prose, only adds a repellent splash of lurid crassness. 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

Innocent Traitor - Wikiwand Innocent Traitor - Wikiwand

So what went wrong? Alison Weir published ten books of historical non-fiction before writing this, her first book of fiction. She knows the topic and she says in her author’s note, “Most of the characters in this novel really existed, and most of the events actually happened. However, where the evidence is scanty or missing, I have used my imagination.” She then clarifies where in the books she has done this. That is exactly the kind of historical fiction I look for. Still, this did not work for me. The author also says she tried to penetrate the minds of her characters, and that is where the problem lies, at least for me. I kept thinking, this character would not do that, she would not say that! The author did not get me inside the head of Lady Jane Grey. I felt that she did exactly what she was told…..until the day she became Queen. Her thoughts and actions were to me unbelievable. Neither could I comprehend the faith she had. Everyone else around her was motivated by personal gain, her parents in particular. I could not believe that her mother came to regret her own behavior. No, I could not empathize with the characters because the author did not succeed in making me see through their eyes. Neither did I find genuine the words the author put in the characters’ mouths. They were too modern. In addition, there was absolutely no humor in this book! This, from what I could tell, is much better researched than the usual Tudor trope, but the writing made it less enjoyable than the lesser works. I definitely would rather read a textbook written in conversational style. [EDIT: I've now read some of her straight-up history texts, and prefer them immensely to this. I was right -- Ms. Weir just can't handle prose and character voice.] RC: I was intrigued by your characterization of Henry VIII. He comes across as a much more likable figure than I would have imagined. This is a rewrite of the review. The previous one that I written was so god awful, that I didn't like it. So enjoy this one instead. When it becomes clear that the young king will not live long, other plans are made for Jane. John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, gets the young Edward to proclaim Jane as his successor.RC: What makes the Tudor period of English history so perennially fascinating to you and to so many readers? Jane è prima di tutto vittima dell'ambizione dei propri genitori: allevata per divenire un giorno sposa di un re Tudor, si ritrova damigella a corte, spettatrice delle vicissitudini delle mogli di Enrico, amica-confidente di Catherine Parr, buona conoscente di Maria Stuarda e poi sua stessa concorrente, nel momento in cui altri vogliono regnare attraverso un'adolescente messa sul trono a caso.

Innocent Traitor - Penguin Books UK Innocent Traitor - Penguin Books UK

Jane grows up close to her nurse, Mrs. Ellen and is highly educated, to the standards of a princess. After Henry VIII's death and Catherine Parr's marriage to Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, Jane goes to live with the former queen and her husband to further her education while her elders plot her marriage to Edward VI of England. RC: It must have felt liberating to be able to do away with footnotes for once. But fiction, especially historical fiction, has its own constraints, and I wonder if you found yourself bumping up against them.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. 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. in my tormented reverie I hear voices, clamoring to be heard, all speaking at once. I know them all. They have all played a part in shaping my destiny." Pare impossibile, ma nell'Inghilterra del '500 ci fu anche spazio per una regina-bambina e quella regina regnò nove giorni prima di essere condannata per altro tradimento e decapitata a colpi d'ascia su un ceppo. Ma come si è arrivati a tutto ciò?

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

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.

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This riveting, richly descriptive novel chronicles the life of Lady Jane Grey. For those unfamiliar with British royal history, fifteen-year-old Lady Jane was named queen of England for nine days in July 1553. She was well-born, highly educated, and a devout Protestant. As the great-niece of King Henry VIII, it would have been customary for her family to forge a marriage alliance with one of the first families of the realm. Her parents have royal ambitions, however, and that is what precipitates tragedy. AW: The whole experience was liberating, not just being able to do away with footnotes. I loved the freedom of being so creative. Yet it’s true that writing historical fiction does have its constraints. I was very aware that it is important to get the language spoken by the characters right, and spent a lot of time modifying original quotations–which I used wherever possible–so that they did not sound incongruous in a twenty-firstcentury text. I also found that it is generally better to show the reader– through actions and conversations–what is happening, rather than relying on narrative skills to tell the story. 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. So I had others talk about her precocity and her formidable intelligence, and endeavored to show that in Tudor England, children were treated as miniature adults and expected to behave accordingly. AW: It was easier to write fiction from the point of view of having seriously researched the subject and knowing the story well. But I was aware of the need to make this book sound very different from my nonfiction works, and to this end I chose to write in the first person and the present tense, because no history book could ever be written in that way. As a historian, it was vital for me to make the novel as factually accurate as possible, and I used everything that could be inferred from historical sources to make my characters come alive. Yet it was some while before I felt comfortable about coming down off the fence and letting my imagination rip! The story starts with her birth in 1537. The daughter of Lady Frances Brandon and Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, Jane is seen as a burden by her parents, both of whom resent her for being a girl instead of a boy, and is regularly beaten by her mother. ... As a child, Jane is treated poorly by her parents, although her father shows some interest in her. She is an engaging child, with a curious mind. She enjoys learning—from languages to music to the classics. The book’s treatment of her makes her into a little woman when she was probably too young to think in the manner attributable to her. Still, in that era, childhood as we know it did not exist.

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

When Mary rides into town proclaiming herself the rightful queen, Jane puts up no fight and is happy to relinquish the title to her cousin. Thinking Mary will be kind to her, Jane is not worried, even though she is confined to the Tower of London; she had spent her brief "reign" there, and the main change is that she is no longer living in the royal apartments. Loved the part where she had to go to the "Privy" but was to scared to leave, so she just lifted her skirts and let it go and hoped the dogs would be blamed! E in quell'epoca folle Jane trova il tempo di studiare, di apprendere le nuove idee che agitano il mondo religioso, di rafforzare la propria fede protestante contro la fazione cattolica. Alison Weir explores Jane's life, from her birth to her early death, in her first work of fiction, Innocent Traitor.But, of course, the arc of this work is the brief reign of Lade Jane Grey as Queen Jane. Her parents and important figures such as Northumberland maneuvered to make her Queen rather than allowing the Catholic Mary to gain the throne. They trusted that the English citizenry would reject Mary and that they could manipulate Jane as a figurehead to run England as they chose. The novel shows how Jane tried to be a Queen but found herself thwarted by those who would use her. Her miserable marriage to a Dudley did not help matters. After only a fortnight as Queen, forces loyal to Mary overthrew the lot of nobles who had plotted to make Jane Queen. Then, the slow denouement, as Mary slowly came to see that, for many reasons, she had to remove Jane from the scene—although she saw her as innocent. The very title of this work, "Innocent Traitor,” says a great deal. The novel ends with real emotional pop, as Jane prepared a simple speech to give before her death. Her dignity, compared with the whimpering of men much more guilty than she, provides a remarkable contrast (this isn’t a spoiler; if people don’t know what happened to Lady Jane Grey, they don’t know much about history!). AW: I was trying to portray Henry VIII as Jane would have seen him on this occasion, and for this I relied on the many descriptions we have of him as a sociable, affable, and witty man who was concerned to put others at their ease. He was not always the monster of popular caricature, nor the buffoon played by Charles Laughton! This book tells the life of "The Nine Day Queen" through various characters' eyes, from Lady Jane to Queen Mary. This book tells of Jane's childhood and offers explanation to her conversion to the Protestant faith. It tells of her relationship to the future Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth I along with her forced and unwanted marriage. It ends with her final days. I felt just so awful for poor Jane. Her parents plotted ways to get her on the throne to make themselves seem better. Her mother was so god awful to her. She was constantly hit and yelled at for the smallest infractions. How she managed to still go on everyday is an amazement to me. She is clearly much stronger than anybody gives her credit for.