Alison Weir is most well-known as an author of historical nonfiction, and Innocent Traitor was her first attempt at a novel. Well. I haven’t read anything else of Weir’s nonfiction or otherwise, but I can certainly say that Weir put the “fiction” in historical fiction with this book. That, probably, is my most pressing complaint regarding the book.In general, Innocent Traitor makes use of every last bit of Tudor-era gossip available, probably to make the book “juicier” and more exciting, but as so much of the things that happened in this book are honestly without real support, I felt very…dismayed by this book. I like historical fiction that’s accurate, not historical fiction that takes a line from a letter and takes it as face value. And one would think that a historian of Weir’s repute would do better than that—though perhaps she approaches her novels differently than her biographies.The biggest thing I take issue to is how Jane Grey’s parents, particularly her mother, were portrayed. AKA, abusive, unintelligent, greedy, ambitious. As Susan Higginbotham, another well-known historian writes, the only existing evidence we have that the Greys were awful parents comes from something Jane herself said, at age 14. Which…what 14-year-old wouldn’t, if given the opportunity, complain about her parents? In any case, Higginbotham really rips apart the defamation of Frances Brandon’s (Jane Grey’s mother’s) character, and that article is really worth a read, especially as it cites Alison Weir’s writing several times. 10/10 recommended read for sure.Another strange thing that Innocent Traitor did was claim that Henry VIII was a “kind and indulgent husband”, which…uh. Hmm. I’m not sure what Alison Weir’s views on marriage are, but I don’t consider Henry VIII to be a particularly kind or indulgent spouse. And that just goes to show how uncomfortable the book makes me in its “take” on various historical figures. Henry VIII was kind and indulgent, Anne Boleyn was a witch, Anne of Cleves was disgusting and smelled bad, Frances Brandon was cold and abusive. These are all, to my mind, stereotypes that often don’t have much contemporary historical sources to back them up. I expected better from an author with this level of reputation.On a quality level, I’m also disappointed by this book. It’s just not written well, from its overwrought and sloppy prose to its messy scene continuity to its, frankly, too ambitious scope. A historical novel isn’t just relaying of facts with fancy language and dialogue (thus differentiating it from a biography)—it has to have the actual qualities of a novel. Like character development, tension, setting, etc. Just because you know the facts and can write nonfiction like a boss doesn’t mean you can write good historical fiction.Firstly, the prose. Oh boy. Innocent Traitor is just a bunch of fluffy, florid nonsense. We have Jane Grey screaming “Oh, the bitterness of death!” on one page and then being all “How extraordinary it was that I, a humble child, should be honored above all these gorgeous and important-looking lords and ladies…” on another. Blah blah blah. That’s just not good prose, okay? It’s overdramatic and trying way too hard. Another thing that didn’t help was how Weir decided to have multiple first-person narrators in this book. On one hand, the narrators all sounded the same, so it was hard to remember if Jane Grey was speaking or if the Duke of Northumberland was. On the other hand, Weir was biting off way more than she could chew—Innocent Traitor isn’t just about Jane Grey, it’s about the entire Tudor dynasty between 1510-1554. The book is only 400 pages, so a lot was squeezed in. A lot of it unnecessary. For instance, the scene where the Dowager Queen Marie de Guise of Scotland comes to visit? Pointless, having no bearing on Jane Grey’s life or circumstance whatsoever. Or the when it’s mentioned that Anne Askew is about to be executed, and then the next day, Jane and her nurse just so happen to be taking a walk through London in time to witness said execution? Pointless and very sloppy.Innocent Traitor is supremely frustrating to me because it could be good, but it’s not. It reads like a gossipy summary of some Tudor-y stuff, and lacks emotional insight and, possibly, historical accuracy. For someone as well-known as Alison Weir, I expected better. Like a well-crafted novel. And some historical nuance. Oh, the bitterness of death!Reviews & more at Respiring Thoughts
Lady Jane Grey, born either 1536 or 1537, was highly gifted, precocious and intelligent but she was born into a time when her life was constrained by her parents and their machinations at the royal court. Her birth was a disappointment to her parents who, like most medieval parents, had longed for a son but they soon pinned their hopes on her marrying Henry VIII's son, Edward VI. But during Edward's final illness their choice for Jane changed, due to the machinations of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland and Edward's Regent, and became the Duke's own son, Guildford Dudley. Jane was, of course Edward's cousin and had been named his successor to the throne, apparently after much 'handling' by the Duke.One of the few joys in Jane's short life was the two years which she spent as a lady in waiting to Queen Katherine Parr, Henry VIII's last wife. Upon Katherine's death in 1548, Jane was unceremoniously and unwillingly returned to her family home. It was then that Jane met tutor to Elizabeth I, Roger Ascham. Ascham noted Jane's complaint about her parents: “For when I am in presence either of father or mother; whether I speak, keep silence, sit, stand, or go, eat, drink, be merry, or sad, be sewing, playing, dancing, or doing any thing else; I must do it, as it were, in such weight, measure, and number, even so perfectly, as God made the world; or else I am so sharply taunted, so cruelly threatened, yea presently sometimes with pinches, nips, and bobs, and other ways (which I will not name for the honour I bear them) so without measure misordered, that I think myself in hell, till time come that I must go to Mr Elmer; who teacheth me so gently, so pleasantly, with such fair allurements to learning, that I think all the time nothing whiles I am with him. And when I am called from him, I fall on weeping, because whatsoever I do else but learning, is full of grief, trouble, fear, and whole misliking unto me. And thus my book hath been so much my pleasure, and bringeth daily to me more pleasure and more, that in respect of it, all other pleasures, in very deed, be but trifles and troubles unto me.” Roger Ascham was so impressed with Jane's intelligence that he set up correspondence between her and many learned men, in England and Europe. A staunch Protestant, she would correspond and debate with them on various subjects including theology. Edward VI died on July 6 1553 and the unwillingly Jane's famously short reign as Queen began on July 10th, ending on July 19th when Mary I was named the true monarch and Jane was charged with treason. Her sad life ended on Tower Green in Tower of London on 12th February 1554.Alison Weir has selected a tragic heroine for her first historical fiction novel but I felt that she doesn't impart much personality into any of her characters. You are getting the facts but there's not a lot a feeling here. Of course, you'd have to be a rock not to feel for Jane's situation or to dislike Frances Brandon, Jane's mother but I did not feel the characters speaking to me. I loved the nurse Mrs Ellen who, unlike her parents, actually loved Jane and was with her from a very early age right up until the moment of her death. While the cover exhorted me to cry for Jane, I did not but I have felt an overwhelming sense of sadness for this young girl since I read her story. While I would recommend that you read this novel because it provides much historical detail, I can only rate it 3.5★.
What do You think about Innocent Traitor (2007)?
Lady Jane Grey was born as a disappointment—a daughter instead of a son. Her mother said upon her birth in this historical novel (Page 5): “I should be joyful, thanking God for the arrival of a lusty child. Instead my spirits plummet. All this—for nothing.” Daughter of Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk and Frances Brandon, grand-daughter of King Henry VII and related to King Henry VIII, her parents’ ambition dominated Jane’s life. Her parents’ goal? A marriage that would bring the family power. The original hope was for her to marry Edward, son of Henry VIII.As a child, Jane is treated poorly by her parents, although her father shows some interest in her. She is an engaging child, with a curious mind. She enjoys learning—from languages to music to the classics. The book’s treatment of her makes her into a little woman when she was probably too young to think in the manner attributable to her. Still, in that era, childhood as we know it did not exist.Events in the book are portrayed first person, through the eyes of a number of people—from Lady Jane Grey to her parents to Mrs. Ellen to Queen Jane Seymour to Queen Mary to the Duke of Northumberland and so on. While this adds a personal perspective that works pretty well, it can sometimes be a bit too kaleidoscopic for my taste. Through these various characters, we learn of the great events of the day as they happen—Henry VIII’s marriages to Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard, Katherine Parr, Edward VI’s brief reign, internal and external crises facing the country.But, of course, the arc of this work is the brief reign of Lade Jane Grey as Queen Jane. Her parents and important figures such as Northumberland maneuvered to make her Queen rather than allowing the Catholic Mary to gain the throne. They trusted that the English citizenry would reject Mary and that they could manipulate Jane as a figurehead to run England as they chose. The novel shows how Jane tried to be a Queen but found herself thwarted by those who would use her. Her miserable marriage to a Dudley did not help matters. After only a fortnight as Queen, forces loyal to Mary overthrew the lot of nobles who had plotted to make Jane Queen. Then, the slow denouement, as Mary slowly came to see that, for many reasons, she had to remove Jane from the scene—although she saw her as innocent. The very title of this work, "Innocent Traitor,” says a great deal. The novel ends with real emotional pop, as Jane prepared a simple speech to give before her death. Her dignity, compared with the whimpering of men much more guilty than she, provides a remarkable contrast (this isn’t a spoiler; if people don’t know what happened to Lady Jane Grey, they don’t know much about history!).Anyhow, despite some problematic choices by the author, Alison Weir, this is a compelling piece of historical fiction. Do read the author’s note at the end. The author discusses the choices that she made in writing portions of the book where there is uncertainty in the historical record or where she took a certain degree of creative license.
—Steven Peterson
of the blood. . .I think i might have mentioned once or twice that i am a tudorphile. As such, i have read (and own) many of Alison Weir’s excellent histories. So i was rather excited to hear of her debut novel Innocent Traitor (which may sound like a Nora Roberts title but is actually the story of the rather tragic nine day reign of Lady Jane Grey). The story is told from multiple points of view from various members of the Tudor court (the prologue, told from Jane's point of view, waiting in the Tower of London for her pardon from Queen Mary tells how "in my tormented reverie I hear voices, clamoring to be heard, all speaking at once. I know them all. They have all played a part in shaping my destiny." she goes over, in her head~although she is exhausted and all she wants to do is sleep~i can definitely relate to that~for the thousandth time how she came to be there), beginning with Jane's birth up to her execution.It is so interesting, how, even when you know the story well, it can still move you to tears when it is well told, as it is here in Weir's expert hands. Weir is an accomplished and much respected historian, her accuracy is not in question, but she writes in her afterword about how freeing it is to be able to speculate on the psychology and inner workings of the players in this very real drama (it's also interesting to note that some of the most unbelievable pieces of the story are the ones that are of undisputed fact). This story is not only about Jane, but about the life and death intrigue of the day to day life of the Tudor court~and many of the voices in this novel often wish to be commoners rather than players on the royal, and very public stage (although i've always said IF i HAD to live in that place and time the only person i would want to be would be Anne of Cleves, because, though she was said to be ugly {which i'm not entirely convinced of} and smell bad), she had the most freedom of all {once her marriage was annulled}).To be of the blood, by the by, means to be of the royal blood, which also, i am convinced carries with it a high possibility of inheriting the migraine gene (Henry, Mary, Elizabeth, and Jane also suffered from them...hmm, perhaps i am of the royal Tudor line after all...). But i also relate it to the blood soaked politics that goes along with playing that game. Family and Politics. Sex and Politics. Religion and Politics (in this case though, it is not Christianity versus anything else, or whose God is God, but which Christianity is the True Faith, and as always people must shed blood over it). All of it is here. This is a great read (though i must admit to being a slightly partial to the story between Jane and Guildford Dudley depicted in Lady Jane~i know, i know call me a romantic if you must...
—YoSafBridg
Jane Grey is one of the most tragic figures of Tudor England. She was the great-granddaughter of Henry VII (her grandmother was Mary Tudor, Queen of France and sister to Henry VIII) and a first cousin of Edward VI. When Edward died, she was crowned Queen of England, but was deposed after just nine days by Mary I, and executed a few months later. Alison Weir explores Jane's life, from her birth to her early death, in her first work of fiction, Innocent Traitor.The book is not perfectly accurate. I read it as a group read at the Tudor History Lovers group, right after Leandra de Lisle's biography about the Grey sisters; therefore, it was easy to see that Weir mostly embraces the traditional portrayal of Jane as a completely innocent victim and a martyr. While I did not dislike her, I often found Jane to be too perfect to be true and therefore hard to relate to. Similarly, her parents are depicted as cruel and opportunistic, especially Frances, who is a completely negative figure, (view spoiler)[even if in the end she rather unbelievably regrets her harsh treatment of Jane and starts caring for her. (hide spoiler)]
—Elena
