The subjects of Philippa Gregory's The Last Tudor, Lady Jane Grey and her sisters, are tragic figures. Living in a world where they exist to be pawns in a game of political and economic power, the characters are sometimes willing accomplices and at other times, resigned to their fate. As they try to achieve normalcy, even happiness, they sink deeper into palace intrigue and their eventual destruction at the hands of more adept players.

"The devil protects his own."

A Game of Thrones, indeed. There is more vanity, spite, jealousy, arrogance, murder and mayhem in this crooked line of succession to the Tudor dynasty that would, undoubtedly, make Ned Stark's head spin. Most certainly, winter has come.

Adding to this evil brew is Papist vs. Protestant and who is backed by whom. When Henry VIII's seriously ill young son, Edward, dies, the recognition of a true heir is at hand. That crooked line runs rivers much like the trickles of spilt paint. The backers of the reformed religion literally shove young Lady Jane Grey onto the throne even though she vehemently shakes her head in refusal. She is touted as "one of the elect". Nine days on the throne is not even enough time to wrinkle one's gown. Lady Jane and those of her inner circle are escourted to the Tower of London. Your Tudor score card will be checking off this potential player.

Philippa Gregory stirs the pot, once again, with the tumultuous saga of the Tudor clan and their blood-thristy, disjointed members. But this time, the reader is invited to partake in the lesser known sisters of Lady Jane Grey. Though Lady Jane no longer poses a threat to the throne, Lady Katherine and Lady Mary certainly are. Lady Jane was noted for her intelligence, Katherine for her beauty, and Mary, though quite diminutive in size, was wise beyond her years.

Enter Elizabeth I. Stately, red-haired, and consumed with jealousy, Elizabeth intends to snip off and tedious bits of the gross-grained ribbons of her distant cousins. Philippa Gregory paints Elizabeth with broad strokes of paranoia. Robert Dudley, Elizabeth's favored married gentleman, clings like the vines along the castle walls. Elizabeth voices no kinship to these cousins and her malice is felt to the bone. Spies carry tales back to the throne room and Elizabeth doles out enough punishment to make even Queen Cersei Lannister blush. Katherine and Mary will become quite familiar with the decor in the Tower of London.

This was an exceptionally good read by Philippa Gregory. We come to know the more elusive historical characters of Katherine and Mary Grey and the family preparations made to take one's place in that eerie line of succession to the throne. My only wish is that there would have been a bit more indepth coverage of Lady Jane herself. Perhaps Gregory felt that Jane was already a much covered topic. Her short, ill-fated life left but a faint shadow in the spectrum of time. Furthermore, Elizabeth, though bathed in vanity, never-to-be betrothals, and a will of iron, sits rigidly as the most well-known in her own Game of Thrones.

I received a copy of The Last Tudor through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Simon & Schuster (Touchstone) and to Philippa Gregory for the opportunity.

This long telling of the Grey sisters trauma at the hands of Elizabeth I was engrossing as well as an emotional read. I did know a good bit about these sisters, having read other books recently but this one went into much more depth and juxtapositions of Elizabeth versus anything that was threatening.

What I got from this very well written story was that Elizabeth's terrors and anxieties put her at odds with almost everyone from time to time, reminding me of our own political landscapes I suspect.

The book ended sort of upbeat, although we know that despite having a pension and owning a house, Mary Grey only have several years of freedom and never again lived with Thomas Keyes. Did she communicate with him in letters prior to his death? I hope so and the book portrayed it that way.

Jane Grey's tragic story is known to most and that was the shorter part of the book, which makes sense. Jane was portrayed as being a "saint" and a "martyr" and surely was fanatically religious; that fact consoled a bit for the manner of her death, as she was not terrified.

The part of the book that tells of the life of Catherine Grey had a lot of depth, which also makes sense as she lived a fuller life. Did she die because she was depressed and anorexic or as other chroniclers indicate also have consumption, if so she may have been infected from Lady Jan Seymour her sister in law.

Married first to Henry Herbert at 13 she was back at court at the age of perhaps 14. Her cousin Queen Mary was kind to her and kinder to her mother Frances Brandon Grey than Elizabeth I was.
Catherine Grey was beautiful and according to Philippa Gregory, she was the darling of the people of Britain when she was imprisoned.

Her imprisonment was for marrying without the Queen's consent and she and her spouse and her two young sons paid dearly for their relationship. Elizabeth I was , indeed, a horrible person as her cousins ( Especially Mary Grey) said often.

I received this book from NetGalley for a review and I feel it was excellent, although I greatly missed an "author's note" , which was not in this ARC. It was an emotional read and quite engrossing. Recommended to all who appreciate this era.

I had hopes to discover a new viewpoint about a trio of sisters that stood perhaps a little too closely to a throne that was guarded so jealously by the Tudors. What this wound up being was a story stretched far too thin on women that either died young or were able to mostly stay out of the spotlight.

The book is separated into rough thirds, each part narrated by a different sister. The oldest, Jane, gets very little time which fits since she is dead by sixteen. The other two, Katherine and Mary spend most of their time imprisoned, complaining of being imprisoned, or being in love, which is the reason they wind up imprisoned.

The plot revolves around as much vilification of Elizabeth as Gregory is able to pack into the Grey sisters, who wholeheartedly believe their claim to the throne is superior, yet dare do nothing to displease Elizabeth. When they finally do defy the queen, they do nothing to further their private ambition and then spend the rest of their lives viewing everything from the sidelines.

Their cousin and contemporary, Mary, Queen of Scots, may have lived many of her years imprisoned, but she never failed to plot and intrigue her way out and back into power. The Greys just waited for it to be handed to them.

First Line: I love my father because I know that he will never die.

Summary: Jane, Katherine and Mary Grey are 3 sisters who are granddaughters to Queen Mary of France. They were raised alongside the royal children of Henry VIII and were named as heirs in his will. Jane is pushed onto throne when her cousin Edward dies, Katherine is punished for marrying and having a son without permission and Mary is kept away from the man she loves. Life as an heir to the Tudor throne is not all it seems.

Highlights: I love Philippa Gregory and her books. This one reminded me a lot of The Other Boleyn Girl. It was light but informative. I learned a lot about the lives of the Grey sisters and their struggles. None of them lived long lives and were punished for daring to be happy. I came to despise Elizabeth and feel mad at the injustice. Even though she did great things for her country her personal life was a mess.

Lowlights: I got tired of all the breaks for different locations. I don't mind small chapters but it seemed like too much.

FYI: Of course this is fiction but it still has a lot of fact.

I could not put this down! Seriously one of Philippa Gregory's best work!!!