Innocent Traitor: A Novel of Lady Jane Grey

Disappointed....

Lady Jane Grey is one of the most fascinating characters in English history. That said, she does not need to be involved in highly unlikely plot twists that involve her finding the order for the arrest of Katherine Parr or being graphically raped by her new husband. I got thoroughly disgusted after reading about Jane and a court gown. Jane is forced to wear it and is so disgusted that she unlaces it, rips it over her head, and "tug[s] at the sleeve, and it rips at the seam". !!!! Anyone interested in the fashions of Tudor times knows THIS COULD NOT HAPPEN. Royal/upper-class Tudor women wore bodices, which were worn over overskirts, which were worn over petticoats, and which had sleeves *sewn* to the bodice. Sewn TO the bodice, not set into an armhole. I'm not up on historical fashion in minute detail, but I'm pretty sure set-in sleeves didn't appear until sometime in the early 19th century for upper-class clothing. As Alison Weir is purportedly a historian, she should know all this, but as I've noticed she likes to pick and choose facts that support her own particular hypothesis and discard ones that do not (see "The Princes in the Tower"), I really shouldn't have been surprised that she would do the same in a work of fiction. For way-out there theories about Tudor England, give me Philippa Gregory any day. At least she knows how Tudor clothes are put together......and writes a darn-good story, as well..... :)

4 out of 11 people found this review helpful.

A Tragic Story

I was surprised to find myself so enthralled by this book. Usually I don't like first person accounts, or narratives that jump between narrators. However, the writing is so fluid and well-done that it's easy to make the transition. Knowing Jane was a real person made the story even more tragic, especially when I suddenly remembered her age at the time of her execution. Having visited many of the locations in the book, such as the Tower and Hampton Court made it even more meaningful.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Great read!

Very enjoyable book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great Novel

As Lady Jane is one of my favorite historical figures, I love reading anything that I can on her. This novel is very well researched, and the way that it is written from different perspectives helps move the story along. Most novels about Jane Grey are told only from her perspective and they get a little bit boring when she is imprisioned, as they all seem to say the same thing. Weir's version provides the reader with the perspectives of people outside of the prison, and allow the reader to know more of what actually happened. It is one of the best accounts of Lady Jane that I have read.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Good Book!

This book gave me a good feel for how it came to be that Jane Grey took over England. Not much is written about this part of the Tudor line but I thought it was very informative.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Kept me Interested

I really enjoyed reading this book. In doing historical Renaissance Re-enacting, I found this portrail of Jane very interesting. In a time when women and children were viewed as posessions and items to be traded I liked that it shower Lady Jane Grey as a pawn in the plots of her father and other men in her life. It was full of things that might have happened in her tragic life, but because of her untimely death there is a lot that we don't know. In response to another comment, in actually having to wear the cloths from this time period, not all sleeves were sewn into the bodice. Sleeves and forepars were often made to be removed and added to another dress to make it look like a brand new dress. So the fit about the dress could have been completely possible.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Historical Fiction Lover

This is an amazing story of Lady Jane Grey. If you love Tudor history, this book is for you. I knew very little about the life of Lady Jane Grey before reading Innocent Traitor. After reading it, I researched the life of this tragic figure. I was delighted to find that Allison Weir's facts were accurate. While reading this book, I felt that I got to know Lady Jane Grey and understood the hardships she was faced to endure. I thought about her story days after completing the novel. I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Really, Ms. Weir!

I'm always disgusted at the way the general public eats, regurgitates, and enjoys this junk! I read this book with the express intent and purpose to learn more about Jane Grey, and instead found a misdirected encroachment on decent literature. Maybe Miss Weir thinks her book is better with belabored smatterings of crassness, or maybe she has an addiction to it herself!

1 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Terriblely crass

I started this book with high hopes because I'm fascinated with Lady Jane Grey. And I was very dissapointed! This book is unbelievably disgusting with details we don't need! If you want that kind of junk, grab a lewd fiction, don't muck up a brave historical figure.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Stick with non-fiction Ms. Weir!

I was thoroughly disappointed this offering by Alison Weir. I am a great fan of all of her other books, but her first foray into adult fiction was a let down. I thought the dialogue was stilted and, while the subject was interesting, it was presented in a manner more befitting a less weighty subject.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Liked the book, not Alisons best.

Great book. But when i read the Lady Elizabeth, it was almost like reading the same book. I was a little disappointed in the similarity between the two.

One of my favorites!

Great book and i couldn't put it down. I have been obsessed with Lady Jane Grey since seeing the 1986 movie as a child. I like learning more about her and was excited when this book came out. There is a lot of fantasy mixed in with facts but that's point of historical fiction.

Disappointed....

There isn't really much I can say about this book. I appreciate Alison Weir as a non-fiction writer, but this book sadly disappointed me. I thought the beginning might have been a little slow and that it would get better through time. It didn't. I felt like I was reading a textbook, that happened to have dialogue, for a class that you dread going to every day.

I stopped reading it for a while and picked up other books. I eventually tried to keep reading it for longer than 10-20 minutes at a time. Finally I finished it and was relieved. I didn't like this book at all. If I were to read another Alison Weir book, it would be one of her non-fiction works.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Wonderful!

I couldn't put it down or wait to pick it up again!

One of my very favorite books!

I love this book about Lady Jane Grey! It is such a sad, yet powerful story about a young woman willing to die for what she believed it. How her family hated her for not being the boy they wanted.

Historically this is a very well written book and Ms. Weir's writing style is captivating!

Very Highly Recommended

Another brilliantly-written page turner. You are drawn right into the center of everything, as if you are actually there as the action unfolds. Hard to put down from the very beginning.

Well written historical fiction

Innocent Traitor was excellent. I could not put the book down and was glad I took the time the read it. Since I knew very little about Jane Grey, it was as if I got to know her a bit more throughout this book. My heart went out to her as although she tried hard to please her parents (her mother in particular) but never received the proper love and support except only when it suited them. It was only too late when her parents actually came to fully appreciate and love her. I really felt for Jane especially in her early childhood years. Her mother was just plain awful and only really cared for Jane (if you could call it that) when it suited her purposes (i.e. mostly for political gain and ambition). There were times when I thought Jane had what it took to stand up to her mother, but she backed down whenever she tried. It got frustrating and I thought Jane was never going to have her own personality and she'll just be a puppet for everyone. Yet past the midway point of the novel Jane does take a slight turn for the better and eventually stands up for herself (particularly against her husband). Towards the end, Jane becomes a much stronger woman and despite her circumstances, maintains her strength. I loved that. She became such a strong character that I loved her even more than I did in the beginning.

The plot of this novel was well written and very interesting. It follows Jane all throughout her life and it highlights moments of interest such as the marriage of Katherine Parr and Thomas Seymour, and its' failure. The addition of something like this is a little strange considering this should have been told all in Jane Grey's point of view. I'm not really sure why this was added as it really had nothing to do with her (except maybe because she was around Katherine a lot around the time?) yet it was a small but well done way to take a break from the main plot and add in a mini story arc to it. I'd have to say the ending was one of the most dramatic. Jane stayed true to herself and that makes her all the more admirable. I absolutely hated the way everyone around her just started using her as a political pawn and her parents are just as bad as parents today who live through their small children and use them for their own gains. I really disliked her mother though. She was horrible! and she didn't gain any sympathies from me at the end. Her emotions and "love" came way too late to even make a difference. I'm not sure what to say about Jane's father. It looked like he was the "better" parent of the two, but his love was misguided and ambition just went in the way. It was sad to see that, as I thought he loved Jane more than her mother did.

I thought this was a great novel featuring Lady Jane Grey. It's a tragic story but her strength is strong throughout the last half of the novel it's hard not to admire her. This is definitely a worthy read for Tudor fans.

Loved it

Well written and historically fair. I couldn't put this book down.

Worth every dime

I love this book. I didn't know much of Lady Jane Grey and this book was well written. I couldn't put it down! I have read many of Weirs books but this is the first historical fiction one I have read. I really enjoyed it and would totally buy it for any of my friends that love historical fiction. I want to read it again!!

loved it

this was a great book definitely worth buying. This book was hard to put down and was thoroughly engrossing