Customer Reviews
Suspenseful even with a well-known ending - By: Graceann Macleod, 11 Aug 2008 
Alison Weir is a respected historian who is often recommended as an antidote to inaccurate representationsin historical fiction as written by other authors. This is her first novel, & what a novel it is. I was entranced from the first line, & even though I knew how it was going to end, I still hoped that there would be a change at some point near the end. That's the sign of a good writer - someone who can write so compellingly & with such suspense that you hope they can even change historical facts for you.
Lady Jane Grey was a pawnin the ambition of her parents & of the Duke of Northumberland, almost from the moment she was born. Never forgiven for the cardinal sin of being born female, she was beaten & tortured into becoming a "lady" suitable for marriage to a monarch. When that ceased to be an option she was beaten into a marriage & a reign she never wanted, protesting even as the crown was being put on her head. These are facts that are known by most who have even read cursory information about this young lady. What is amazing is the way Alison Weir makes it seem like new information. The chorus of different voicesin the telling of Jane's tale is exemplary & clever. I kept turning pages wanting to see what spin the next narrator would put on the story.
This novel did what historical fiction should do - it made me want to seek out the non-fiction bases for the story & do more reading. Anything that inspires further study can only be praised.
An Excellent Book into a Intresting Woman - By: Gem - the bookworm, 23 Jun 2008 Having known very little about the main character this book is based on, Lady Jane Grey, it was a refreshing & intresting read. I've been a fan of Philippa Gregory's book's but this surpasses them by leaps & bounds.
The characters are very much three dimension each with flaws. A previous reviewer had made the comment that Jane was too perfect, which I didn't find. To me she was flawedin the fact that she was too dogmaticin her views on religion, but thisin itself was, at least to me, a form of rebelion against her parents. It was their disappointmentin Jane & their ambition for power that ultimately led to her downfall.
The author has obviously done her homework & research & by intertwining known facts with certain key pointsin history that Jane 'Could' have witnessed, it brings it live.
I also began to fell for Queen Mary I, who even though knew thatin order to give the country security of her marriage to Philip of Spain, & therefor give a heir to the throne, Jane had to die, Mary gave Jane many chances to live. First by trying to get her to convert & then to see if she was with child.
By the time that Jane's execution was drawing close, I found I could no longer read this book at bed time. I found myself getting very emotional at the scene.
Allin all, an excellent book & I can't wait for the next one, which is sittingin my to-read pile.
good but nothing special - By: R. L. Araujo, 11 Jun 2008 
Ok so I really liked the whole concept of this story, as soon as I got the book I thought it was some thing special. I enjoyed the layout of being able to see the events taking place from various perspectives. But I feel the book & the protagonist is weak. I felt that at points Jane was too perfect & that it seemed like Alison weir had forgotten she was just a girl of 16 who would have had other hopes beyond religion & studies although I have not researched Jane so I would not know but I simply could not see her as a human. I did however enjoy her mother who seemed like a much more interesting & well developed character. I also disliked Jane's "wedding night" I felt the whole scene was unnecessary & very depressing, at points it became unbearable to read which really put me off finishing the rest of the book. I feel the problem with this book is that Jane lacked faults, she did not seem to me to be a real person who did actually live, she seemed more like a saint & I felt I simply could not relate to this character. I also felt some chapters were rather boring & I found myself skipping a few pages.
First Class Historical Fiction - By: J. Chippindale, 12 May 2008 Alison Weir is a much read & much respected historian with a string of non fiction books to her name. She is widely known for her biographical books about British Royalty. She livesin Surrey with her two children, John & Kate.
Innocent Traitor is the first novel that Alison Weir has written & I am not sure whether it was a conscious effort on her part or a brave move to write about one of the lesser known characters of English history. Whatever the reason the author has brilliantly captured the feel of the Tudor period. A time when the country wasin turmoil following the death of Henry VIII.
Lady Jane Grey was the victim of scheming & dominant parents who used her like a pawnin a game of chess. Although of royal blood Lady Jane was used by many of the powerful men of the time who were solely interestedin feathering their own nests. The throne of England was there to be taken by those who dared to chance their arm on installing a young girl whose claim to the English throne fell far behind that of the rightful heirs. A young girl who was to pay the ultimate price allowing herself to be manipulated, albeit against her better judgment. For some of the most powerful menin the kingdom, virtually anything was preferable to Mary, with her strict catholic religion that would bring the country close to open civil war.
Some of the best historical fiction I have read - By: Mrs. F. B. Coward, 07 Apr 2008 If you asked some one to name the first Tudor Women they could think of you would probably hear names like Elizabeth I, Anne Boleyn or Mary I. In many ways I think Lady Jane Grey is a very overlooked character, perhaps because she was executed at the tender age of sixteen, which was why I was glad to see that she was chosen as a historical fiction debut by an acclaimed historian.
Poignant, intruiging & ultimately tragic 'Innocent Traitor' spans Lady Jane Grey's dramatic childhood from her birth to frustrated, ambitious parents to her truly heroic dignity at the scaffold. Lady Jane Grey's story is told from many perspectives; her own, her ruthless mother's, her doting nurse's, that of Katherine Parr (who adopted her for a short time), that of Mary I (who is shown to have more humanity than I would have expected) & that of the scheming Duke of Nothumberland. The novel is a tribute to the strength & resourcefulness of character of Tudor women apparently helplessin a bloody, male-dominated system. However as a slight weakness I found that having so many narrative voices sometimes made the novel harder to follow & Jane's voice especially, was a little plaintive at times. Still, I would recommend this to any readers of historical fiction & look forward to the 'Lady Elizabeth', Alison Weir's next work of historical fiction.
