Lady Jane Grey and the House of Suffolk [Hardcover]

Alison Plowden (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The beheading in 1554 of Lady Jane Grey, the "Nine Days Queen," was a horrifying episode in English history, yet her judicial murder caused no great stir at the time, even among staunch Protestants. Executed at age 16, after a hastily arranged marriage made her a pawn in a bloody royal power-game, Lady Jane was too closely identified with the Dudleys' failed coup to rouse much syumpathy. Earlier biographers have painted her as a model of forbearance, mild and calm, but Plowden (Tudor Women, The Young Elizabeth argues that she had the makings of a modern fanatic. Lady Jane's total ideological commitment to the Protestant faith is the key to understanding how a gifted child, starved of affection, developed into a forceful woman who sublimated all her energies to an ideal. Her tragedy is the centerpiece of this engaging chronicle of the House of Suffolk. Plowden compresses a century of domestic battles, intrigues, love affairs and political maneuvering into less than 200 pages with brio and aplomb. Photos.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA A biography of a family with enough suspense and excitement to make it read like a fine historical novel. It begins with Charles Brandon, the first Duke of Suffolk, and his marriage to Henry VIII's sister, and continues through his second marriage, his children and their marriages. It is also the story of Brandon's eldest granddaughter, Jane, her ascension to the throne of England in 1554, and her nine-day reign. It is told against all of the religious and political conflicts of the era. Tudor blood continued to prove an unhappy legacy to the descendants of Charles Brandon until the mid-1700s, at which time the family died out. The 16 pages of reproductions from the Ashmolean, National Portrait Gallery, British Library, etc., are instrumental in bringing these historical figures to life. Mary Wadsworth Sucher, Baltimore County Reading Services
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 201 pages
• Publisher: Franklin Watts; First Edition edition (March 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0531150003
• ISBN-13: 978-0531150009
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,067,359 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Study of Tudor England, May 7, 2001

By 

Dana Keish (Ohio, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lady Jane Grey and the House of Suffolk (Hardcover)

Author Plowden is very well known for her books concerning the Tudor dynasty of England. This book traces the story of Henry VIII's sister, Mary who first wed the elderly King of France. Upon his swift demise, Mary pursued and won the man she wanted, Charles Brandon. For a while she was banned from court for daring to marry for love, instead of dynastic reasons. From this marriage, her offspring and their descendants would be tightly controlled by the subsequent Tudor monarchs, Edward V, Mary I and Elizabeth I.

While focusing on primarily Lady Jane Grey, the granddaughter of Mary Tudor, all other descendants (primarily female) are also discussed. The complication succession to the throne made a minefield which ruined many lives.

The book is very well written and quotes extensively from original sources. I would recommend it and any other Plowden books to anyone interested in Tudor England.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Puts Lady Jane in Context, October 11, 2000

By 

K. Maxwell "katmax1" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lady Jane Grey and the House of Suffolk (Hardcover)

A large portion of this book is about Lady Jane Grey/Dudley, the 9 day Queen of England. However, it doesn't just deal with her. It puts her in her social context within her scheming familiy and how they delt with Royalty and the Tudor court.

It also gives an interesting follow up of what happened to the rest of her familiy following their ill fated bid to get Jane on the throne. It's an interesting book, all the more so because it deals with a group of people, not just Lady Jane.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very high quality popular history, August 1, 2001

By 

Michael K. Smith (South Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Lady Jane Grey and the House of Suffolk (Hardcover)

Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, was not only the brother-in-law of Henry VIII but also his best friend; after the king's own children, Brandon's descendants were named heirs to the crown. The duke's granddaughter, Jane Grey, died for her legacy at the age of sixteen, a Protestant intellectual challenging the accession of the Catholic Mary Tudor. Jane's sister Catherine subsequently ruined her chances to become heir-presumptive to Elizabeth I by her unauthorized marriage to the earl of Hertford -- and then by presuming to give birth to a healthy son (seven of whose close relatives lay buried headless under the chapel in the Tower where he was christened). The Suffolk drama would have been a fitting subject for a Shakespear-ean tragedy.