Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery

Historian Eric Ives is a meticulous, scholarly writer who leaves no stone unturned and unless a cache of Jane Grey memorabilia should turn up like the Dead Sea Scrolls (that could happen) the reader should consider this book the definitive Jane Grey.Jane died before she was seventeen. Brown eyes had she, and a freckled nose. She was universally considered handsome but so short she wore 3" platform shoes. She was the foremost female scholar of her day, speaking eight languages including fluent Greek and Latin. She was spunky: she read Plato in her room while her family was out hunting and she refused to allow her husband, Guildford Dudley to be named king. She had integrity for she at first refused the crown because it belonged to Mary. She went to her death with grace and courage, one of history's great tragediennes.Many fascinating personalities- the players, the manipulators who strut and fret their hour upon this stage- are examined. Ives considers Mary, who as a private person "was probably the most attractive member of the Tudor family" We see poor dying Edward who desperately tried to emulate his father Henry VIII. We see the movers and shakers, the Duke of Northumberland who married his son Guildford to Jane and Jane Seymour's two ambitious, ruthless brothers, Thomas and Edward. We see Katherine Parr, the kindly widow of Henry VIII, who tried to be a mother to Elizabeth and Jane and who died in childbirth after she married Thomas Seymour. We see the insensitive parents of Jane who bullied and punished her in their effort to mold her into a queenly, highly marketable marital catch.We see the battles, the forces of Northumberland against the forces of Mary. We see that the cloth of estate was practically ripped off over Jane's head while the nine - days queen was sitting there on her throne. We see how most of the rats deserted her ship.Eric Ives takes you there, as you've never been taken before. You'll learn a lot, about the personalities and the events as the tapestry of this drama of long ago is unraveled before you. Highly recommended!

As the subtitle of this book implies, Lady Jane Grey is as much a mystery as a biography. Both aspects of the book are well done. Ives weaves the mysteries surounding Jane into the biographical material. Besides Jane, there are excellent synopses of Edward and Mary Tudor's lives and an intriguing psychological analysis of the insecurities of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland. The last two sections on Jane's life called "Thirteen Days" and "Consequences" are as fine a biographical narrative as you will find. The natural sympathy for Jane is not lost but Ives ties everything down to a close and careful historical analysis. Powerful reading.The aspects of this mystery are many. Why did Edward VI make Jane his heir within a month of his death? Why did the Council do what Ives calls a "U-turn" within hours to change allegiance from Jane to Mary? What drove the enigmatic Dudley and could Dudley's pressure on Edward (and son's marriage to Jane) have been a factor in Edward's decision? Why was Mary so surprisingly (given her previous life history) prepared for the change in monarchs and Jane's supporters so incredibly ill-prepared? Is there any substance to the "dark" rumors about the cause of Edward's death? And what can we know for sure about Jane given the historical mythology built up around her? Ives does a superb job sorting through the historical data and giving the reader solutions to one of the great mysteries of English history.This is the story of a highly intelligent, well-educated, and amazingly forthright young woman caught innocently in a web of political intrigue. Ives goes a long way toward unraveling that web. For those interested in both biography and real-life mysteries, this is an excellent book. Highly recommended.

Ives has compiled an exhaustive resource for anyone looking to study the English Succession Crisis of 1553. Though the book takes the name of its unfortunate central figure, Lady Jane Grey, the story within reaches far beyond her. In fact, the best parts of the book in my opinion are dedicated to meticulously scrutinizing the behaviors of two major power players: Mary and Northumberland.Obviously the value of this book lies in Ives's master analysis, so I do not want to give anything away. However, be assured that in this version of events, nothing is taken at face value. Instead of another retelling of this all-too-familiar story, Ives breaks it down as far as possible. Piecing together Northumberland's service to the crown in the years prior to Edward VI's reign portrays him in an entirely different light than his post-succession crisis reputation. Likewise, very little in Mary's past would lead anyone to believe she was capable of coordinating a swift and decisive armed rebellion against London and Queen Jane. Ives tracks her every movement and explains in detail the mechanisms that allowed her to triumph over Jane in the end.Also interesting are the chapters on Edward VI. His role in these events is usually reduced to something along the lines of, "he named Lady Jane Grey his heir and then died." However, Ives really did a lot of research on Edward's so-called "Deuise" for the succession. In the end, he presents a possible timeline of events leading to this highly consequential document's existence.Jane receives her due coverage in the book, with a few chapters on her upbringing and reputation among her contemporaries. Moreover, the last chapter is dedicated to her legacy as portrayed in the arts and popular culture. I will leave Ives's conclusions about Lady Jane and her role in the succession crisis for readers to discover on their own.

I've read other articles and papers by Eric Ives, and admire his refreshing stance on many things Tudor. So I was happy to see this book by him, on a woman who has aroused plenty of interest and (mis)information of her own since her own lifetime. Lady Jane Grey was descended from the Tudors, and cousin to King Edward VI. She was, unfortunately for her, a victim of her parentage, and the pawn of men (and women) who saw her as an opportune way for them to gain power over the throne, by one means or another. Both Jane and her sisters were used and abused all their lives by others. Certainly Jane's life could be considered tragic, and you do find yourself wondering what her life would have been like if circumstances had not thrust her into the limelight that she never sought for herself.The author has an uncanny ability to take historical facts and analyse them to a detail which then lays the results bare to the reader from a new and intriguing viewpoint. In this book, he has taken the year 1553 and dissected the events, the people, the actions, and the consequences of all that happened in that year. The `mystery' of the title of the book devolves largely around how and why the events of 1553 occurred. Crucial to the succession following Edward VI was, of course, Edward's paper entitled `My Deuise for the Succession', its amendments and edits, the adoption of same, and the arguments around the legality of same. This is treated in very clear detail in the book, which I appreciated. Also very clearly treated is the likely relationship between Edward and his advisors, particularly Somerset and Northumberland. This details are crucial to conclusion around the succession, both during and after Edward's lifetime.It struck me forcefully from this book that Jane Grey, during her lifetime, was used in a political sense; her importance was political to those who manipulated her. However, as soon as she was dead, her importance became that of religion; she was seen as a Protestant martyr against the Catholicism of Mary. And it really is her political importance that we need to understand, from the perspective of 1553, not afterwards, if we are to get a clear idea of who Jane was and what she stood for in her own lifetime. Getting beyond the people who used her, both in life and in death, and finding the `real' Jane, and ultimately what happened in 1553, is what this book is all about. In Part I, the scene is set. In Part II, there are subsections on each of the protagonists - Jane Grey, Mary Tudor, John Dudley and Edward VI. Part III covers in detail the fateful thirteen days of Jane's queenship and overthrow, and Part IV covers the consequences to those involved. The success of the build-up to the final ending, even though we know it is coming, is evidenced by the fact that when you read of Jane's final tragic days, and her sad trip to the scaffold, you feel a fresh horror at what the poor girl had to go through in her short life.Ives has used his sources well, both primary and secondary, and the clarifications on the adoption or otherwise of previous historians' viewpoints is very clearly set out. In all, although this book is not overly long, it is very full and clearly laid out, and offers all the relevant information to be a fairly definitive view of the year 1553, and the transition between Edward VI, Jane Grey and Mary I. Absorbing, informative, and very readable - highly recommended, as are all of Ives' books.

Like his previous work on Anne Boleyn, this book is essentially a thorough, well researched and meticulous presentation of the proclamation of a relatively remote Tudor claimant to the throne, the subsequent ramifications which unfolded because of it and the series of events which preceded it.The reasons for catapulting a young, shy, sixteen year old granddaughter of Mary Tudor in favour of her formidable cousin, Mary, have over the centuries been explained away by the deviousness or ambitions of her parents, and in particular, John Dudley, the then Duke of Northumberland, who has gone down in history as the prerogarator of the whole affair.Ives' work however very interestingly challenges this theory (which has been conventionally accepted by even some of the most senior and respected historians of our time) whilst not discrediting Jane in the process.Ives reveals that Dudley was an accomplished soldier (more suited to the military than career politics) who had to contend very early on in life with the ramifications of his father's execution for treason shortly after the accession of Henry VIII, and uses a series of contemporary letters and accounts written by Dudley to support his assertion, that far from courting controversy (and ambition), Dudley was actually an insecure individual, constantly fearing that he would become victim to court gossip or the disfavour of the monarch as his father and some of his contemporaries had.Ives also contests that far from actively encouraging the downfall of his rival, Edward Seymour, Dudley supported and sustained Seymour during his tenure as Protector insofar as was possible and that it was he, rather than the popular Seymour, who encountered public dissatisfaction as a result of recession, levies and poor management conducted by Seymour which led to higher public taxation.Ives makes a convincing argument for the case that Dudley, far from being the scrupulous and conniving individual depicted of late, was a man committed to his government, work, religion (only converting to Catholicsm before his execution in exchange for a vain promise of life) and touchingly dedicated to his wife, family and even his various sons and daughters-in-law.Indeed, so impressed was I with this depiction of Dudley's character and the conviction with Ives' arguments, that I also found myself questioning why this man had gone down in history for his notorious role in these events, although as Ives also admits, his protagonists' claims have not entirely been without foundation, especially with regard to why Dudley married his son, Guildford, off to Jane and contracted almost last-minute alliances with the Earl of Pembroke before Edward's demise in May 1553. Such actions could surely indicate that Dudley was clearly aware of the state of Edward VI's health at this crucial time.Yet, Ives convincingly argues that Edward's devise for the succession was entirely his own invention and not that of Dudley.One example he cites to support this argument is Dudley's apparent recognition of Mary as heir in February 1553, and furthermore, no contemporary courtier or ambassadorial account seems to indicate that anything was seriously afoot (this was not the case in relation to the downfall of Anne Boleyn in 1536).Dudley's role in these events only comes into prominence when Edward's health takes a serious turn for the worse, leading to Edward's "devise" as it would be called, which essentially consisted of supplanting his sisters as heirs in favour of the legitimate, Jane Grey and her "heirs male".As we can see from the vivid description of the devise, it was incredibly idealistic, unpractical and ultimately, unworkable. The contents of the devise meant appointing the succession to any of the male heirs of Henry VIII's sister, Mary Tudor (who were all female) and leaving the female parent to rule as regent until that male heir had reached the age of majority.As Ives points out, such a devise was unrealistic, as it could clearly have benefitted the heirs of Eleanor Brandon, or the remaining two Grey sisters and very possibly led to rival factions and conflict between the various heiresses.As suggested by Ives, one analysing the plot in great depth, would hardly conclude that this was the work of John Dudley.Nevertheless the "devise" is divulged here in fascinating detail and surely reveals as much about the idealistic but deluded Edward at this time as it does about the other two main characters in the plot, Dudley and Jane.Ives' focus on Jane is also equally as fascinating and lucid, revealing this girl to have been a formidable intellect as well as a devoted reformer, who, like her cousin Elizabeth, may similarly have harboured some attachment towards Thomas Seymour and was certainly in her element when brought up under the guardianship of the Queen Dowager, Katherine Parr.All in all, I was very impressed with this work, although I have to agree that the title is slightly misleading, choosing not to focus on Jane's life as a whole but on the events which precipitated and succeeded her nine day rule in 1553. However, Ives does delve into some depth on Jane's early life, her rigorous and scholarly upbringing for example, and the religious life with which she was exposed to at her home in Bradgate, which became a sort of meeting-place for the trendy, up and coming reformist circles of the 1550s.One aspect of Ives' assertion which I do not agree with is his conclusion that Jane was the legitimate heir to the throne. As he himself attests, the devise so avidly postulated by Edward VI, was practically unworkable anyway and was also based on Edward's manipulation of Henry VIII's 1536 Act of Succession and subsequent Will (which meant that conjointedly, despite Mary and Elizabeth having been declared "illegitimate" by the same Act, Henry was able to appoint a successor of his own choosing, which is what he then did when nominating Mary and Elizabeth as heirs in 1547, should Edward fail to produce any issue).As Ives states, this reasoning might well have been lost on the majority of the lay population of the day, but the "natural" rules of succession based on hereditary right (which would become a sore point for Elizabeth on the point of Mary, Queen of Scots) was a popular concept known to both the lay people and the nobility alike, and would have settled the matter, coupled with the argument that Henry's first two marriages were contracted in "good faith", thus arguing Mary & Elizabeth's technical legitimacy.However, disagreements on the conclusion aside - this is nevertheless a truly magnificent piece of work on the demise of a remarkable and talented young girl. This work illuminates on the events which lead to this dramatic tragedy and Ives also introduces a new dimension to the argument, particularly on the role of John Dudley, which leads to some sympathy towards Dudley as a potential victim of Tudor politics as well as Jane.I would thoroughly recommend this book for anyone wishing to study this event in greater depth.

If you want to know about Lady Jane Grey then you might find this book a little disappointing. There is more of the history and people of the times than there is on Lady Jane. It reads more like a biography of Dudley but does assist in presenting a rounded history of the people and the times.The book lends itself to promoting Lady Jane Grey as a pawn in the power play of the English Protestant nobility (before?) and after the death of Edward VI but doesn't assist in the understanding of Edward's 'devise' or what influenced Edward's decision in removing Mary and Elizabeth from the line of succession.The book is however well set out and reads well. Mr Ives presents his case, probably as best he can, with such little evidence his research appears to have uncovered.

Other than its title suggests, this book is essentially an analysis of the year 1553. However, Lady Jane's entire life and works are presented with many discussions of detail. A final chapter details her afterlife in the arts, novels, movies, and so on. Additionally, the young King Edward VI, his chief minister John Dudley Duke of Northumberland, and Mary Tudor, Edward's much older half-sister, are each given a short but fascinating biography. Ives thoroughly reassesses Edward's last will, "My devise for the succession" and draws some remarkable conclusions. In other aspects, in the light of what has been written by Diarmaid MacCulloch, David Loades, Stephen Alford, and even W.K. Jordan, his arguments are not always as new as they might seem. However this is no bad thing. Ives's greatest achievement is that he overcomes hindsight, one of the most frequent and serious sins in historians. Another very agreeable thing is his fairness towards all the players. Unlike some other accounts, his book refrains from distorting evidence to make more spectacular points; nevertheless it is a thrilling read, and also a moving one.

I am fortunate that as a student at the University of Birmingham in the 1970s I had the great privilege of being taught by the inspirational Eric Ives who became a mentor and friend. Much of Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery is familiar to me from seminars spent in Professor Ives' room in the university Arts Faculty building and reading the book brought back many happy memories. Of course, the thesis offered in the book is much developed and refined but the central argument, that John Dudley, duke of Northumberland, was more scapegoat than traitor and in attempting to place his daughter-in-law on the English throne was merely attempting to carry out the wishes of Edward VI, remains the same.Eric Ives was an outstanding historian and his published works never disappoint. If you are interested in the mid-Tudor period and desire to get away from superficial 'populist' treatments of the Jane Grey episode; if you long for a truly scholarly and, it must be said, still controversial assessment of what Ives would see as the revolt of the usurper Mary Tudor against her sovereign, Queen Jane, then you have no alternative but to ensure that this book finds a place on your bookshelf.