Lady of Misrule

Poor Jane. She really got a bum rap. In The Lady of Misrule, Elizabeth Tilney gets a front-row seat to the insanity that is Jane’s post-reign imprisonment and gains insight into the reasons for that imprisonment. Then again, as Elizabeth and Jane face a longer imprisonment than they ever imagined, Elizabeth must confront the issues within her own life.

Tudor England politics are never an easy topic. Yet, Suzannah Dunn does a fabulous job explaining the politics behind the Mary and Jane battle and the stakes at hand for both. She details the forces behind Jane’s thrust to the throne and hints at the issues that Mary will continue to have during her own reign. In an era that requires multiple charts and graphs to map out the intricate show more relationships and branches of the royal tree, Dunn manages to make this brief portion of history understandable.

As this is a work of fiction, Dunn does play a little loose with historical details. However, what she fails to include or what she changes in no way changes that history or the story. She tends to omit tiny details that, while important, are not necessary to understanding Jane’s fate. I would rank her as a much better author than a certain other author with initials of PG who also loves to write about the Tudors.

If anything, after reading The Lady of Misrule, you will come away with a greater appreciation for the freedoms afforded to women in the twenty-first century. You will also celebrate the fact that our forefathers here in the United States had the insight and courage to throw off the monarchy. Who needs all that infighting and scheming? It certainly didn’t do Jane any good after all. show less

The story of Lady Jane Grey, Queen for 9 days, is well-known. In this fictionalised account of her final months Dunn has as her narrator Elizabeth Tilney, lady-in-waiting/companion to Jane. Tilney is a real character, she accompanied Jane to the scaffold, but Dunn models her character and uses her to explore the politics of Jane's execution as well as create a story for Tilney that explores the life of a Tudor woman.

Unfortunately this book is neither a fictionalised account of Jane Grey nor a successful story about a tudor woman - the two get tangled together. Leanna de Lisle biography of Jane and her sisters ('The sisters who would be queen') is a great biography. Whilst perfectly pleasant I didn't really bond with this book as much as show more I would have liked. show less

Lady Jane Grey reigned for nine days then was sent to the tower. In her attendance is Elizabeth Tilney and this is her story of Jane's final days.

I have read many books about Lady Jane and everyone is different. This one is about Janes final days when she was in the tower. All of the story takes place in the tower and I felt it made the story quite grim. For me not a lot happened as Jane is confined and is allowed at times to go outside to meet with Guildford Dudley.

A lot of the story isn't Jane's but Elizabeth's and its her narrative that the reader gets. There's a lot about Elizabeth and her time before she goes into the tower with Jane. This is something that author seems to do. She places what the reader thinks is the main character show more into the background.

The book was slow going but I did think picked up right at the end leading up to Jane's execution. Overall the book was ok but I have to admit to reading better books about the nine day queen. show less

I must admit i do love the historical fiction genre & in particular the Tudors so i was very pleased to receive an ARC of this book via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
I did like this book it was a different take on The story of Lady Jane Grey via Elizabeth Tilney her maid in waiting at the tower.
However i felt at some points in the middle it just lacked a bit of substance & i put it down a few times but im glad i persevered as it was a good book i just feel in this competitive exciting genre i have read better.