England was a dangerous place in the wake of Henry VII's demise. If a conniving noble wanted to hold on to power he had to keep two very important things in mind. First, he had to be ready to change allegiance at a moment's notice. Even one slip could be fatal on the ever shifting political ground. And second (more important) he must know not only who was in power, but also who were the pawns.
Lady Jane Grey was one of those pawns.
Jane spent her days studying classical language and literature, keeping up a correspondence with the reformer Heinrich Bullinger, and enjoying the company of her friend Queen Katherine Parr. But thanks to the Third Succession Act, which named her fourth in line for the throne behind the princesses Mary and Elizabeth, Jane was doomed to a life of being shuffled back and forth between the nobles.
Threatened first with a royal marriage to her cousin, Edward the King, and then to his cousin Edward Seymour, she met with beatings and abuse each time she resisted. But as the Seymour's fortunes began to fall—and young King Edward began to grow ill—Jane was soon to learn how far her parents and the nobles would go to keep the throne out of the hands of Mary Tudor and firmly in their own. At the age of sixteen Jane found herself desperately seeking God's will, caught up in the middle of a struggle in which she would rather have no part—but one into which she was born.
No queen of England had a reign as short and tragic as that of the Nine-Day Queen. Debora Meroff paints a picture of a Jane Grey struggling to faithfully live out the will of God for her life, even if it meant accepting her role as queen. Strong, intelligent, but also a victim of the greedy and ambitious people around her, Jane held steadfastly to her faith in spite of the devastating circumstances around her.
Review by Lauren Shearer
Lauren Shearer writes words for fun and profit. She also makes films, but everyone knows you can't make a profit doing that. Her other hobby is consistently volunteering way too much of her time. You can read more of her reviews
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