Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir

[Melisende]

The story of Lady Jane Grey by Alison Weir.

Okay - I began this book with severe trepidation. Weir is not one of my favourite authors - especially her brand of historical "non-fiction" - so I was hesitant to say the least when I chose this book to read. Others who have read it have given good reviews. Well, now to mine.

I liked it!! Yes, strangely enough, I enjoyed this foray into fiction by Weir far greater than any of her "factual" based books. She manages to convincingly tell the story of Lady Jane Grey, the Nines Days' Queen of England.

Weir's book takes the form of a narrative told by the various characters of the book - the main ones being Jane, herself, and her mother, Lady Frances Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk, and Jane's nurse, Mrs Ellen. A number of other historical personages add their voices: Queen Mary I (The Lady Mary), Queen Katherine Parr, Queen Jane Seymour; and later John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, and lastly, The Executioner.

Jane's character comes across as sympathetic though at times her stubborness does irk one - the character of her mother, Frances, is another story. Frances was renown for her cruelty to her daughter Jane - and at the end of the book, Frances is rebuking herself for being a 'strict" parent.

The story of Jane's life flows well, despite the number of voices being heard - this does not complicate things. The book is not encumbered with a lot of historical detail - and yet it maintains true to Jane's life as we know it. It is easy to read and the story is easy to follow regardless of which character has centre stage.

Of all Weir's books, this is one I would recommend.

[diamondlil]

The number of voices did bother me. These were my thoughts when I read it.


Alison Weir, our pre-eminent popular historian, has now fulfilled a life's ambition to write historical fiction. She has chosen as her subject the bravest, most sympathetic and wronged heroine of Tudor England, Lady Jane Grey.

Lady Jane Grey was born into times of extreme danger. Child of a scheming father and a ruthless mother, for whom she was merely a pawn in a dynastic power game with the highest stakes, she lived a live in thrall to political machinations and lethal religious fervour.

Jane's astonishing and essentially tragic story was played out during one of the most momentous periods of English history. As a great-niece of Henry VIII, and the cousin of Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I, she grew up to realise that she could never throw off the chains of her destiny. Her honesty, intelligence and strength of
character carry the reader through all the vicious twists of Tudor power politics, to her nine-day reign and its unbearably poignant conclusion.


Alison Weir is the author of numerous non-fiction books, but Innocent Traitor is her first fiction book. She has taken the story of the Nine Day Queen - Lady Jane Grey, and given us the details of her childhood, her relationship with her parents, her introduction to court, and then the machinations behind trying to put Jane on the throne following the death of Henry VIII's son, King Edward. We are also given an insight into Jane as a very enthusiastic and somewhat dogmatic Protestant during a time of huge religious upheaval in 16th century England.

Daughter of Frances Brandon, the sister of Henry VII, Lady Jane Grey had what can only be portrayed as a miserable childhood right from birth, when her parents were very disappointed that she was not a boy. Frances was an extremely strict mother, who punished Jane excessively for even the most minor of infractions. In reality, whilst her parents were well matched in their own marriage, it appeared that they were really only concerned by what they could gain out of marrying Jane off. Right from her earliest days, Jane was raised with an eye to being an extremely accomplished, and therefore marriageable, young lady. I am sure that the Grey's were not the only court families who viewed their daughters in this way, but the portrayal given in the book emphasises the coldness of Frances Brandon in particular.

As Jane grows, she is introduced to court, and she becomes particularly attached to Queen Katherine Parr. Indeed, after Henry's death, and Queen Katherine' s marriage to Thomas Seymour, Jane goes to live with Queen Katherine, and for once in her short life, seems happy. Even then though, the reason for these living arrangements is related to trying to arrange a glittering marriage for Jane (with of course rewards galore for both her parents, and Thomas Seymour who is trying to make the arrangements).

As King Edward gets closer and closer to death, the behind the scenes wheeling and dealing continues, with the end result that Jane is married to the son of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland and eventually declared a reluctant queen. Her reign lasted just nine days, and she was deserted by those that had put her into the role and left to the mercy of Queen Mary I.

I have to admit that I have never read any of Alison Weir's non-fiction books, so when I started reading this book it wasn't from the perspective of seeing how a historian fared in the change from non fiction to historical fiction, it was from the perspective of a completely new to me author. It has to be said that she certainly challenged herself.

This whole book is written from first person point of view. My major issue with this book is the fact that it isn't just from one or two people's POV - rather we have at least nine different views....that's a lot of head hopping. Granted that a couple of those are only for a few paragraphs, and even the with those people who we do get to know quite well, there are times where an we have a couple of paragraphs from one point of view and then we move onto the next perspective. More than once I had to go back a page or two to find out once again who was providing the narrative to be sure that I was understanding what I was reading in the correct context.

Maybe she decided to write from first person POV because third person could have been perceived as being too similar as writing non-fiction in terms of the detached viewpoint. Who knows. Personally, I felt as though there were at least three or four unnecessary narrators. Yes, they all added something to the narrative about what was happening but there may well have been other ways of achieving the dissemination of the same information.

Weir has taken the known facts, even the strange ones that seem implausible (for example, the way that Queen Katherine Parr's warrant for arrest was found and given to her, eventually meaning that Henry did not carry through with it) and then filled them out admirably, giving us a very interesting portrait of the life and times of Lady Jane Grey. It is shocking to me at times to realise how young many of these young people were when they were found guilty of treasonable offences, and executed - such a young age to be considered mature enough to be such a threat to the monarchy.

Whilst I did have issues with the first person points of view, this was still an entertaining read, and I am glad to have taken the time to read it.

Rating 4/5

[Misfit]

I enjoyed this as well, but also found the changing POV's to be more than a bit distracting.

[Perdita]

I liked this one as well. Hearing the different viewpoints of all the different characters involved made everything fall into place and make sense, because it's quite a complicated story with all the politics and scheming.
The only thing that grated a bit was how 'knowing' and articulate Jane was portrayed in the early chapters when she was supposed to be only 4 or 5years old. She spoke like an adult.

[diamondlil]

I had this same issue with Elizabeth in The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir. In her authors note she talked about how Elizabeth was quoted as being precocious and intelligent, but it was seriously overwritten into both of these books.

[Tanzanite]

I had this same issue with Elizabeth in The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir. In her authors note she talked about how Elizabeth was quoted as being precocious and intelligent, but it was seriously overwritten into both of these books.

I agree with you there. I really liked the multiple POV. One of the more interesting ones I thought (although also one of the shortest) was that of the executioner. That job would be bad enough; but to have to execute a teenage girl like that, would have to be the worst.

[Divia]

I enjoyed this as well, but also found the changing POV's to be more than a bit distracting.


Agreed. I dont like a story to jump around that much. For me its unbearable. I made it through though.

And I also agree with the comment about how Jane and Elizabeth were smart but the author seemed to go overboard just a tad.

[boswellbaxter]

My review:

Alison Weir's first historical novel, Innocent Traitor, is Weir's take on the story of Lady Jane Grey, the "Nine Days' Queen." The story spans the time from Jane's birth, when she sorely disappoints her parents by not being a boy, to her death.

Weir chose an interesting narrative style for her novel. Instead of the time-honored (and very shopworn) "let me look back upon my life upon the eve of my death" first-person narration, she tells Jane's story through a variety of first-person narrators: Jane, Jane's nurse, Jane's mother, Queen Jane Seymour, Queen Katherine Parr, Queen Mary, John Dudley, and, finally, Jane's executioner. Several people who have read the book have commented that they disliked the jumps from narrator to narrator. I didn't find this bothersome, as it allows the reader to know things that Jane could not have known and to witness events she could not have witnessed; it also allows Weir to give necessary background information without sounding strained and artificial. Futhermore, the device of the multiple narrators enables Weir to make points without beating them in: for instance, we can see, as Jane and Mary can't, how much in common the rigidly Catholic Mary has with the rigidly Protestant Jane. (Sometimes, too, the multiple narrators add some comparatively light relief in what's mostly a rather dark novel, as when we discover what Queen Katherine Parr really thinks of Jane's mother.)

My only objection to the narrators, in fact, was that men were underrepresented. The only man we hear from regularly, John Dudley, is a thoroughgoing villain; though his perspective was a useful one, it would have added more balance to the book to hear from others as well, preferably more complex, conflicted men than he. I especially felt the absence of not knowing what Jane's father was thinking--or not thinking--when he laid his final, unsuccessful plot. I would have also liked to hear more from Jane's callow husband.

Jane and her family are handled well. Jane's parents treat her shabbily and insensitively, yet Weir manages to convey all of their considerable flaws without making them completely hateful. (Jane's mother Frances, genuinely grieved over her daughter's impending death yet still able to arrange to console herself with her young master of horse, is especially memorable.) Jane herself is a well-rounded character: strong-willed and good-hearted, yet with a self-righteous, almost irritating streak that saves her from being simply a pathetic victim.

All in all, I finished this novel feeling a genuine sense of loss, and I'm looking forward to Weir's next excursion into historical fiction.

[siouxzee]

I, too, felt severe trepidation going into this book, but for the opposite reason - Weir is one of my favorite authors, but the thought of her writing fiction was frightening. However, I found this book to be captivating, even though I knew the 'story' so well.
I always enjoy books with multiple POVs (if done right, of course) so it didn't bother me in the least. I felt like it rounded out the story and the characters.

[Divia]

Well, to be fair weir did want more povs in the story but I think her publisher said NO. I thought I heard she wanted 13. I think thats overkill, personally. So maybe more men would have been in the original story. That would be an interesting question to ask her!

[ejays17]

I've just finished this book, and enjoyed it thoroughly.

I liked the "head-hopping", it gives more of an insight into what people are thinking/planning than the more usual 3rd person narrative.
I also found Jane's precociousness at the beginning of the book a bit unnerving - it was hard to reconcile her "thoughts" with the actual age she was written as.

[Nefret]

Have decided to read this for a while. The many characters makes it more interesting. But I get confused if I forget who's telling their story. Over all I am enjoying it though. (It was the first Tudor novel I ever bought.)

[Carla]

Here's my review:

Edition reviewed: Arrow, 2007, ISBN 978-0-09-949379-2

Alison Weir is best known for her historical biographies, and Innocent Traitor is her first historical novel. It tells the story of Lady Jane Grey, the ‘Nine Day Queen’, from her birth to her death. All the main characters are historical.

Tudor England was a turbulent place for those who lived near to the throne, and Lady Jane Grey was nearer than most. Her mother, Frances, was the daughter of Henry VIII’s younger sister Mary Tudor, and as Jane was the eldest of Lady Frances’ three daughters, she had a claim to the throne of England. Henry VIII’s will stipulated that the throne should go to his only son, Edward VI, and if Edward died without an heir it should then go to Henry’s daughters Mary and Elizabeth, in that order. Alas, Henry’s marital entanglements provided ample scope for arguments over the succession, as both Mary and Elizabeth had been declared illegitimate when Henry had been trying to get rid of their respective mothers. When Edward died childless in July 1553, a group of powerful noblemen led by John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, decided to proclaim Jane Queen of England. The success of the scheme depended on imprisoning Mary, but Mary was warned of the plot, raised an army and marched on London. Jane was now caught between two factions. Other people’s schemes had brought her into peril of her life.

The tagline on the cover says, “If you don’t cry at the end, you have a heart of stone.” Lady Jane Grey’s tragedy is so cruel that the straight facts have a fair chance of bringing a tear to the eye, and Innocent Traitor takes the facts and mildly dramatises them.

Innocent Traitor uses an unusual narrative device, telling Jane’s story through multiple first-person narrators. This has the advantage that the reader gets a more rounded view than would be possible with a single narrator, and occasional amusing sidelines as various characters show what they really think of each other. On the downside, I found that most of the narrators had a tendency to sound the same, possibly because almost all of them are aristocratic women. (This might also account for the rather frequent descriptions of clothes etc). I had to keep backtracking to the chapter headings to remind myself who was talking.

Another quirk of the writing style is the use of present tense for almost the entire novel. This had a distancing effect for me, as if the characters weren’t living through their experiences at all but were telling someone about them. Somehow, having a woman enduring a three-day fatal childbirth narrating in fully grammatical complete sentences didn’t convey her agony very effectively to me. This sense of distance was compounded by the astonishing self-awareness displayed by every narrator. No confused human emotions here; everyone seems to know exactly what they did and why they did it, as if they are giving some sort of statement to the Recording Angel. The use of present tense may also contribute to the even pace of the novel, which seems to amble along at much the same tempo in the crowded days of Jane’s short reign as it did when describing her upbringing and education.

Innocent Traitor does an excellent job of conveying the sense of Jane as a political pawn. Literally from the moment of her birth, somebody is scheming to use her for their own advancement. If it isn’t her parents, it’s Thomas Seymour or the Duke of Northumberland. Jane makes some of her own choices (such as her refusal to convert to Catholicism in prison), but the choices she is given are of other people’s making.

Jane is the central character and one of the main narrators, and the novel makes an attempt to develop her as a character without falling into the trap of making her a saint. Jane’s courage is admirable, but her refusal to compromise even on small things is irritating. She makes a moral issue out of everything, for example insisting on wearing black when her mother and Princess Mary want her to wear bright colours. From a very early age she displays not only a precocious intellect but also a prudish distaste for anything to do with sex and childbirth, and seems to have few interests outside her studies. No wonder people found her difficult to deal with! Her mother treats Jane with excessive harshness, but one can understand how frustrating it might have been for her trying to train Jane up to be someone’s wife, mother and mistress of a great estate. The author comments on this in the Author’s Note, observing that Jane is “a very modern heroine”. She certainly seems out of her time, though it seems to me a great pity that Jane could not have become one of the formidable scholar-abbesses familiar from previous centuries, a role which might have fitted her admirably.

In her religious dogmatism, Jane is in many ways the mirror image of Mary. This raises the intriguing question of what sort of a Queen Jane would have made if history had worked out differently. With her uncompromising views and conviction that she was always right, would she have ruled harshly and been remembered as unfavourably as Mary has been? Certainly Jane as portrayed here does not seem to have the flexibility or political cunning that would have been needed to make her an effective ruler. Like Mary she won’t bend, she can only break.

The novel is closely focussed on female characters. The only male narrator with a significant amount to say is John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland, who is a cold-hearted villain with apparently no scruples and not much in the way of redeeming features. It would have been interesting to hear from some of the other men in the story, such as Jane’s father (whose rebellion sealed her fate) and her unwanted husband Guilford Dudley (whose portrayal is so one-sided as to make me wonder about his side of the story). In particular, I would have liked to see and hear more from Dr Feckenham, the Roman Catholic priest and scholar who tries and fails to persuade Jane to change her religious views and save her own life (Though since Jane’s death was the price of Mary’s marriage to Philip of Spain, one has to wonder if a reprieve could really have been possible). He seems to have genuine warmth and humanity, commenting to Jane that “an old man such as I has learned to question his convictions”. I wonder what he thought of the whole unfolding tragedy.

Straightforward retelling of the tragic story of Lady Jane Grey.

[annis]

This is the only one of Alison Weir's historical novels which really works for me. She does a good job of conveying Jane's vulnerability and the inevitability of her fate. Perhaps Weir is indicating her belief that Jane's rather narrow and blinkered religious dogmatism was one of the few ways she had of exercising some control over her own life. Her intellectual ability is one area where she knows she doesn't disappoint. She does seem to have been more suited to the role of scholar-abbess than monarch, unlike Elizabeth, whose formidable yet flexible intellect seemed perfectly designed for dealing with the pragmatic realities of power and politics.