Customer Reviews

Coronation of Glory: The Story of Lady Jane Grey

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Lady Jane Grey's life was anything but normal. At a very young age, she was sent to court to be a lady-in-waiting to Catherine Parr, last Queen of Henry VIII. There, she became very close to Catherine and learned of the Reformed religion. She also learned the horrors of queenship, and became grateful of the fact she would never become one . . . or so she thought. After the death of Henry VIII, she became the ward of Thomas Seymour, uncle of the new king and brother of the Lord Protector. She was not an orphan. She was "bought" to pay off her father's gambling debts, and a chance at marriage to her cousin, King Edward VI. It was no wish of her's, but at least it brought her closer to her close friend, Catherine Parr, for Catherine married Thomas Seymour shortly after becoming a widow. The three of them lived happily and peacefully with an addition, Princess Elizabeth, half sister to the king and future Queen Elizabeth I. This bliss was shattered when Elizabeth and Thomas began a flirtation with one another, leading to the dismissal of Elizabeth and the heartbreak of Catherine. Soon after, the former queen died at childbirth and Thomas followed soon after, although not to sickness. He was executed as a traitor.

Jane left this troubled past and tried to begin again at Bradgate with her family. Here, she lived with her abusive mother, distant father, and frivolous sister. As with most noble families, they did not stay long there, but traveled around England. During this time, Jane fell in love with Edward Seymour, son of the Lord Protector. It was smiled upon by her parents and Jane was for a brief time happy. Then, the Lord Protector was executed for treason at the hands of the new Lord Protector, The Duke of Northumberland. Jane's hopes for marriage with Edward were dashed, and she was forced to marry Northumberland's son, Guildford Dudley. Although she tried, the marriage was not a happy one. It was then that her life changed drastically again.

A few weeks after marriage, Jane was pronounced Queen of England. Northumberland was able to get the dying King to name her as heir, even though she was only fourth in line. In doing so, it ensure England would remain Protestant and Northumberland in power, for was not Jane married to his son? Jane wasn't pleased by this turn of events, but since she thought it was God's will, she went along with it. Nine days later, the rightful heir, Mary I (later Bloody Mary), was able to take power. She became Queen, and Jane was sentenced to death. There was hope for Jane though. If Jane would convert to Catholicism, her life would be spared. With God's strength, Jane refused, and became a martyr and hero to us all at the tender age of 16.

As you can probably tell, I am obsessed with this great lady. She should be and example to us all. This book not only reinforces that, but it does so in a beautiful way. It is very well written, beautifully in fact. It helps make Jane's death to be not in vain!

The book does say she was beheaded and that she reigned for 9 days, contrary to other reviewers claims. I do wonder at why every fictional account of Jane feels inclined to give her some sort of great love of her life, differing only in who it is. This one gives us someone before she was forced to marry another. This is a very entertaining story, however, and not too bad in its historical fancies.

This book is written in the first person as though Lady Jane is telling her life story. It is well-written and very thoroughly gives the background and all the history involved. For anyone interested in this topic, it is a good book to read.

This work of historical fiction recounts the story of Lady Jane Grey, whose greatest misfortune was to be the daughter of highly ambitious parents, as well as fifth in the line of succession to the throne of England upon the death of King Henry VIII in 1547. The first was Edward, only son of King Henry VIII. The second in the line of succession was Mary, the older daughter of King Henry VIII. The third was his other daughter, Elizabeth. The fourth was Lady Frances Grey, the Duchess of Suffolk, and mother to Lady Jane Grey. This book tells the story of this young woman and is set against a backdrop of treacherous sixteenth century court intrigues, power brokering, overreaching ambition, and religious upheaval.

Jane was cousin and friend to King Edward VI, son and successor to King Henry VIII, and there was talk of their marrying. When Edward, however, died at a young age, political jockeying by Lady Jane's ambitious, greedy parents, the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk, and the treacherous and ruthless John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, set into motion a series of events that would result in Lady Jane marrying Guilford Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland's son, and being proclaimed Queen of England. It was a reign that was to last only nine days before Mary Tudor, daughter of Queen Catherine of Aragon and King Henry VIII and second in the line of succession, would reclaim her birthright and be declared Queen.

The story of Lady Jane Grey, an intelligent and pious young woman, is a tragic one, as she was merely a pawn for the ambitions of others, and for that she was called upon to pay the ultimate price. Those readers that like light historical fiction, such as that written by Philippa Gregory and Jean Plaidy, will, undoubtedly, enjoy learning more about this tragic young woman whose life was lived in the shadow of a crown.

Perhaps, as many reviewers seem to think, this book was not researched as much as it should have been. Perhaps there were historical errors in it. But who cares? Why shouldn''t the author make up some little details to spin a rich web of magical, real characters as she has? The author has taken bare facts and transformed them into an emotional, realistic tale about the tragic Nine Days Queen. We should not abuse her for it, we should admire her. The book s full of developed charcters and some close, realistic guesses. In short, I loved this book as much as any.

If it's fiction you want then this book is for you! However, for those of you seeking fact I suggest looking for "The Nine Days Queen" by Mary Luke who actually did some research. Lady Jane Grey was queen for 9 days and was beheaded. And don't watch the movie for facts...it's a great movie. I own it and love it but it's not entirely true either. DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU'RE TOLD! LOOK IT UP!

I first learned of Lady Jane Grey when I saw an ad for the movie (with Cary Elwes in it, whom I love)and just had to find out more about Jane Grey. I researched and researched and she has become one of my favorite people in history. It's amazing that such a young girl could have faced so many trials. When I read Coronation of Glory I absolutly loved it! I must agree with some reviewers, that this book isn't really a biography, but more of a historical fiction book. But, if you love Lady Jane and her story, then I think you'd love this book. After I read this book, I watched the movie LADY JANE (the one mentioned earlier) and wished that the movie was based on Coronation of Glory - I liked Jane loving Edward better than her loving Guildford...since it's more believable, since supposedly Jane didn't like Guildford at all. I've read this book twice and hope to find more books on Lady Jane that are just as good.

This isn't a bad book, but it must be emphasized that it is a novel. Fiction. Not the result of research done by a historian. It should not be read by anyone looking for the "true" story of Lady Jane Grey, any more than one should read "Gone With The Wind" to learn the history of the Battle of Atlanta. The author should not have used the words "The Story of" in the title (maybe "A" instead of "The") and Amazon should not list the book under biographies.

I am a direct desendant of the House of Suffolk through Jane's cousin Lord Ferdinand Strange and I recommend checking certain incontravertible facts before purchasing this: First, Jane ruled England for 9 days, not 7. Secondly, Jane was executed by beheading (as aforementioned a death reserved for the well-born) and Third, Jane's cousin Mary was far more popular than Protestant Jane. Its nice to see someone would have enough interest in this fascinating personality to write a book but some background checking would be advisable.

Wow, what can I say? This is an utterly amazing book and I couldn't put it down!! I am 16 myself, knowing hardly anyhing of Lady Jane Grey beforehand, but I found this a helpful book! The fact that a Lady so young could stand for God and die for him. The book is made more interesting by adding in the love story which is so sad, but happy! The emotions of the Lady herself were brought out so much that I feel differently about a lot of things now. I love the way that the author added in verses from the Bible and showed Lady Jane Grey's great faith even in standing up to the RC priest. The story, quite factual, as it was written hundreds of years after this period is a 'must read' to everyone and I wish that I, myself could be more like her in her hard, romantic and short life. So the facts involved in this book are accurate but brought to life by adding in her thoughts and personal life, as if written by her. It utterly transformed my thoughts towards God and how true he is!