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12:50 pm
February 24, 2012
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Has anyone read Ives’ book about Jane Grey? Are there any others that you can recommend?
1:13 pm
February 24, 2010
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I have it, Janet, but I have yet to read it. Have you read, “The Sisters Who Would Be Queen,” by Leanda de Lisle?
It is the story of Jane, and her sisters. Very good.
1:45 pm
February 24, 2012
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Thank you Sharon. I just finished watching Lady Jane and wondered what the ‘real’ story was without the movie spin on it. I’ll look for ‘The Sisters Who Would Be Queen’ as well.
1:53 pm
June 7, 2010
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I read Ives’s book on Jane. It’s very good, and he views Jane through a different lens than other historians. The books does not deal just with Jane, but also explores the roles of Northumberland and the future Queen Mary during the crisis. Ives creates a complex argument, but writes in an easy to access format. One of the best Tudor books I’ve ever read.
I agree with Sharon about Leanda de Lisle’s book. It is one of the best, and brings Jane to light. But, de Lisle also explored the lives of Katherine and Mart Grey, which were two people I knew little about before reading this book.
Mary M. Luke wrote a bio on Jane. It’s an older book (the edition I read was from the 1980’s). But, I still felt it was a good read, and I learned a lot about Jane from it. It as actually the first full-length bio on Jane I’d read.
Alison Weir’s “The Children of Henry VIII” features Jane Grey. It is one of Weir’s better books. You just have to be cognizant of Weir’s limitations and poor citations. If you are interested in fiction, Weir wrote “Innocent Traitor” about Jane.
"By daily proof you shall find me to be to you both loving and kind" Anne Boleyn
2:13 pm
April 9, 2011
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I definitely recommend Alison Weir’s ficitional book Innocent Traitor. It is a very good read and very informative about the life of Jane. Like every novel I read there are certain limiting aspects but overall I felt I got to know Jane a little bit more. Just be prepared to read a story that features a ‘woe is me’ heroine that towards the end gets a little bit tiring.
I have Ives book and have only skimmed it, but it seems really good. A part of me enjoy the approach that Ives has taken with the claim that Jane wasn’t the usurper but Mary was.
I also have Weir’s biography on the Children Of England and it seems informative enough.
Obviously none of these present the fairytale romance that is depecited in the gorgeous Lady Jane movie.
4:54 pm
October 28, 2011
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I read a Jane Grey biography by Alison Plowden recently, which wasn’t bad. All of her book seem to be a little short but they’re good overviews.
I had forgotten about the Ives bio, I’ll have to hunt it down.
5:22 pm
January 9, 2010
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I’ve got a bio on Jane by Hester W. Chapman that I picked up in a second hand book shop. Although it was written in the early 60’s and some of the info and illustrations are a little out-dated, it’s not too bad a read. Chapman has a good writing style that keeps things interesting. I’ve also got her biographies on Anne and her one on Henry’s sisters, Margaret and Mary. If you can find her books I really recommend them.
7:23 pm
November 18, 2010
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Ives’s Jane is the book I’m going to read after Starkey’s Wives.
I’ve been reading a lot of fluff recently and need to get back to more intellectual stuff.
It's always bunnies.
4:08 am
April 1, 2011
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Ives’ book is very good; so is Leanda de Lisle’s. Both do a good job of sorting myth from fact.
I would not recommend Mary Luke’s book at all. Much of it–Frances Grey shaking her infants, Jane having heart-to-heart talks with Katherine, Duchess of Suffolk, a description of Jane’s wedding night, just to name a few examples–is pure fiction, although the author claimed to be writing a biography. I can’t recommend Weir either; her book is dated and reports rumors (like that of the fate of Edward VI’s body) as fact.
Susan Higginbotham
http://www.susanhigginbotham.com/
8:36 am
October 28, 2011
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Bella44 said
I’ve got a bio on Jane by Hester W. Chapman that I picked up in a second hand book shop. Although it was written in the early 60’s and some of the info and illustrations are a little out-dated, it’s not too bad a read. Chapman has a good writing style that keeps things interesting. I’ve also got her biographies on Anne and her one on Henry’s sisters, Margaret and Mary. If you can find her books I really recommend them.
Hooray I found the Jane Grey book by Chapman when I was out op-shopping the other day. I’ve out it next to my Leanda de Lisle book so I can read them one after the other.
I really liked Weir’s Children of England book Susan, although I suppose if I can’t find a proper source for something when I’m reading I don’t take it as fact. And there seems to be a few authors who skip that pesky citation part.
