Book Summary and Reviews of Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir

Reader Reviews

Write your own review

Cathryn Conroy

Mesmerizing!
Even students of British history who know how this story ends will find this fictionalized version (that is solidly based on historical facts) a riveting and even mesmerizing read. Author Alison Weir masterfully tells the life story of Jane Grey, known as the nine-day queen of England. The great-niece of King Henry VIII, Jane was the eldest of three daughters in a time when only sons were wanted. She was physically and emotionally abused by her mother, but found solace in books and learning--highly unusual for a young girl of these times. But her life only gets worse. When her marriage is consummated, she is brutally raped by her husband.

The entire book is written in the first person but from the viewpoint of several people, including Lady Jane Grey; Mrs. Ellen, her loving and trusted nursemaid; Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk, Jane's hateful mother; Queen Katherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII who took an interest in Jane; and John Dudley, the man who wrested the crown, albeit temporarily, from Princess Mary, the rightful heir.

The book is filled with the gossip, intrigue and conspiracies of court life with such vivid descriptions that the story just pops--making you feel as if you're living in the middle of it. In the author's note at the end of the book, Alison Weir writes: "It is my sincere hope that the story that has unfolded in these pages has both enthralled and appalled you, the reader." It did both magnificently.