I received an ARC through NetGalley and the publisher for this book. I am a big fan of Alison Weir and I always look forward to her next book. This 3rd installment in the Tudor Queens series provides excellent research, history and insight into Jane Seymour, Henry VIIII’s third and supposedly favorite queen. I enjoyed learning more about Jane’s childhood, background and family life as well as her time in court before marrying the king. Historically she is viewed as the one who gave Henry a son and heir and for that reason alone she is important and famous, even though her life was tragically short. Fabulous book! I look forward to the rest of the series.

The story of Jane Seymour’s rise to the throne (and her subsequent death after bringing forth Henry VIII’s only male heir) has been well chronicled by many.  Was she pushed by her ambitious family?  Was she truly the docile angel she was later enshrined as?  Alison Weir – well known writer of biographical fiction and straight historical biography, and who in fact has written multiple historical biographies about Jane – tries to answer these questions through the medium of fiction, writing about the young queen’s life from the day she leaves an attempt at an ecclesiastical life to the day she dies in her royal bed.  The result - Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen - is a bit heavy on history, a bit light on the juicy melodrama, with some very old-fashioned storytelling tropes – in short, a solid novel although not a perfect one.

Jane – ripped from a nunnery in hope of advancing the prospects of the Seymour family in the growing wake of the legal and ecumenical unrest resulting from the destabilization of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon’s marriage  – feels alone and ungainly as she sits unasked-for within the walls of the family keep.  Her happiest moments are the ones she shares with her boisterous, troubled, ambitious family.  To hush up a family scandal, Jane is sent to court, hoping to smooth royal feathers and seek out a proper husband for herself, and hopefully, for her sister Margery as well.

Court life immediately embroils the awkward Jane in intrigues she isn’t prepared to cope with – many of them started by her brothers’ unwise political scheming.   Thrown in at the deep end, she applies a system of silence, modesty, reason, fairness and virtue to keep from becoming enmeshed in the various social and geopolitical disasters forming around her.  Playing witness as Henry divorces himself from Rome and the Pope and creates the Church of England so he may divorce Catherine and install Anne Boleyn beside him as queen, Jane is furious on behalf of her mistress and leaves the court, staying loyal to Catherine and to the religion that bolsters her, until her father orders her to Anne’s side.

Anne, unlike the reserved, religious, and faithful Catherine, is a tempest of emotion, rapacious and protective of her daughter Elizabeth – just as wrathful as the murderous, selfish Henry.  Perhaps they’re too alike - when she miscarries two sons and the brewing whirlwind of conflict with Spain rears its ugly head, it’s enough to make Henry worry that he’ll die without producing a male heir. So he turns to Jane and begins wooing her.  Jane is conflicted – adultery is a sin and she has seen the damage it does to human life, but her family pressures her into colluding with the king so that she might assist the Princess Mary and her former queen.

Soon her own feelings for Henry take deep root, and she finds herself transcending the moral barriers she once so staunchly held between them.  Falling in love with the king, she watches Anne’s self-implosion with distaste and sympathy.  When the hated queen is beheaded and a pregnant Jane rises to take her place, she is soon beset by both status-seeking courtiers and nightmares and apparitions of the late Anne.  Is she being haunted by the late queen?  Or are other fates at work, governing her life?

The Haunted Queen does several things well, including managing to combine a sense of drama with a sense of deep history, telling us new things about Jane that grow her beyond the innocent naïf the history books have cast her as.  Yet while the historian in Weir often enlightens the author’s fiction, it sometimes sinks the book in overly-ornate detail.  This is only an occasional flaw; mostly she gets it right and the book’s large page-count doesn’t feel like an enormous strain.   It sweeps the reader back in time, and does give us a credible peek into Jane’s head.

The most heartrending scene in the novel features Jane’s sister in law, Catherine, who is forced into a nunnery thanks to the revelation in her father’s will that only minor provision shall be made for her living expenses by him due to the fact of her extramarital affair… with Jane’s father.  Jane’s cool-headed help paves the way for her survival through the court’s politics, her tenderness as Catherine loses her lucidity in isolation, and her own moral quandary over adultery when Henry enters her life.  Weir is excellent at weaving stories together that way, and each little bit of foreshadowing slips through the narrative and adds to the tragedy of Jane’s future.

The book is plenty romantic – well, if you like Henry the VIII’s ornate pleading and begging, followed by his hot-headed childishness and threatening rages.  Jane is a good heroine to follow, and is interesting and not too sweet and soppy in this telling.  Indeed, the shade of superstitious melodrama and tough practicality that Weir gives manages to differentiate her Jane from all of the other Janes that have existed in Henry-related biographical fiction.  All of the dramas, disasters and religious calamity that took place at that time are carefully and accurately depicted.  Young Mary Tudor is given an appealingly sympathetic betrayal, and even Anne Boleyn, for all of her flaws, comes forth in the narrative as a sympathetic creature.

If you like Tudor-era fiction, Weir is always a solid bet.  Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen is no exception to the rule, and if you have a fascination with Tudor England it’s a wonderful way to read yourself through a dull May day.

Buy it at: Amazon/Barnes & Noble/iBooks/Kobo

*Thank you to Netgalley and Random House - Ballantine for sending me this ebook to review for an honest opinion*

This book gives a new perspective to Henry’s third (and possibly favorite) wife. Seeing life through the scope of a young girl who originally had her heart set to be a nun and then find herself married to the most influential and powerful man in the country brings an air of humanity to an otherwise hollow history lesson.

The book is divided into parts. The first, is about Jane’s life at home, then the second is about her time as a lady-in-waiting, the third about her service of the the Queen proceeding her, and lastly about her rise to queendom and her eventual death giving birth to her son.

Part 1
Jane seems to come from the perfect family. Couple sisters, a brother or two, and a new sister-in-law. All is well.
Jk, people are sharing bed buddies with persons they shouldn’t be so the perfect family photo is now ripped in half.

Part 2
Jane has found herself in Queen Katherine’s court as a lady maidservant to her! Mistress Anne Boleyn is causing havoc and the well-known split with Rome is on the horizon. Reading this through the eyes of someone not in the situation was refreshing. Jane has no dog in the fight (so to speak), but she has her loyalties.

Part 3
Queen Katherine has died, sadly. Anne has miscarried a third son, and Henry is furious. He seeks comfort in Jane, and is hatching some sort of plan to be rid of Anne so that he might have Jane as his wife.

Part 4
This was the shortest part, but filled with the most information. This part saw Jane elevated to the rank of Queen, miscarry twice, and deliver the future King Edward VI. Jane’s death scene was so visceral: I felt like I was in the room, watching her struggle, seeing the shadow on the wall coming to claim her life. Amazing writing.


Alison’s mastery of olden language and grammar shows clearly here, as does her use of description and scene-setting. The author is amazing at painting a picture easy for the reader to see in their own mind’s eye and thus puts the reader in the position of crowd-watching instead of peeping Tom. Although this is fiction, it does have some base in history. I love this reading this doesn’t feel like a chore, on the contrary; it’s a treat! Weir does a good job of showing things from Jane’s perspective: to herself, Jane is good and pure and all things light, Anne Boleyn is evil and all things dark.

I loved this book and can not wait to read about the remaining three wives, especially Anne of Cleaves.

As a child, Jane Seymour dreamed of becoming a nun. After spending a season at the nunery, she decided that life wasn't for her. Her family found her a place at court under Queen Katherine. During this time, Anne Boleyn began flaunting her relationship with the King. Once Queen Katherine was cast off, Jane became a lady to Queen Anne. One day, when Jane is in the garden, she comes across King Henry, and he quickly becomes infatuated with her kindness and gentle manner.

This was a well written and engaging book. I particularly enjoyed reading about Jane's time under Queen Katherine. Once Jane became Queen the book seemed to stagnant a bit. The tension and drama was essentially over. I look forward to reading the next book from Weir.

In this third book in the Six Tudor Queens series, Alison Weir has done for Jane Seymour what no writer has. Her Jane Seymour has a personality. Most authors writing in this time period present Anne Boleyn as evil and Jane as a saint. Jane is not as sweet as she appears to be, and her life with Henry is not peaceful or contented. In times of stress, she sees visions, especially as she carries the heir to the throne. We all know how this story ends, but we still wish for a happier ending for Jane. Weir's concluding author's note outlines her sources and reasons for her narrative choices, including a reassessment of Jane's final days.

An excellent look at the life of Jane Seymour, Henry VIII's third wife. Since there are many things historians do not know, Alison Weir had to invent what may have happened. Her theories worked well in the plot and are based on what we do know. Her characterizations were excellent.

Thank you netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a fair review.

I have a love/hate relationship with historical fiction. I'm a history buff so the opportunity to really get into the heads of my favorite figures from the past is irresistible. The hate comes in when the fictionalized versions of these icons do not behave in the way I would expect.

This was my dilemma with Alison Weir's "Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen." This book, like other Alison Weir books I've read, is so engaging that I stayed up late into the night reading. Alison Weir is an excellent story teller and she makes Jane Seymour and Henry VIII sympathetic characters who I cared about.

This is where the (very mild) hate part comes in. Jane Seymour is portrayed as an ultra religious, virginal waif who is swept off her feet by the King of England. King Henry falls head over heals like a school boy. I don't feel history supports this portrayal. The Seymour family, particularly the two brothers, were opportunists who desired power. I believe Jane must have also had aspirations to power. Her involvement with the King while he was still married to Anne Boleyn show that Jane wanted to improve her position in the court.

There is an author's note at the end of the book where Ms. Weir explains why she chose to portray Jane as an innocent . I appreciated reading her views and her acknowledgement of the other side of the issue.

After reading this from beginning to end I've come to the conclusion that this series is actually turning out really well. As a historian, I tend to frown on loosely based historical fiction and steer myself away from bad examples of the historical figures being depicted. In this book and in this series all together, you have to imagine it from this characters point of view, Jane Seymour was a pious, obedient girl who was devoted to Catherine of Aragon and despised everything that Anne Boleyn stood for. Of course she would have abhorred the whole Boleyn family. These books are not meant to trash the other wives, but view them from the selected wives point of view. It was intriguingly done and I'm very impressed with the work that Alison did to make this Queen pop off the page.

I received a copy of Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen by Alison Weir from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have been a fan of Alison Weir's writing for many years and I am happy to report that this book did not disappoint (not that I thought it would)!

This was a fictionalized novel of the life of Jane Seymour, Queen of England and the third wife of Henry VIII. The book begins in Jane's childhood and shows her progression from childhood to Queen. The writing is everything that is expected from Alison Weir - a well-woven story and crisp descriptions of people and events - and the pace moves swiftly.

Even though the book isn't completely historically accurate, I think it captures the vulnerability of Jane Seymour from the sheltered upbringing due to her class and gender, and how limited her choices could be as a daughter and then wife/Queen. In spite of Jane's flaws, I thought she was more moral and a better person than many of her contemporaries; and even though I know how history turned out, I did root for her.

All in all, reading Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen by Alison Weir was a fantastic way to spend a rainy, early Spring day, and I am happy to had the opportunity to do so. I look forward to future novels from Alison Weir.

This was an absolutely spellbinding book. Having read the work of Alison Weir before, I knew I was in for a treat and a meticulously well-researched book as well. This book paints the picture of a young woman who comes to the court of Katharine of Aragon and is then swept up into the different factions that break apart during the reign of Henry VIII, ultimately ending in her marriage to the King. The characterization of Jane was impeccable and I found myself sneaking away at inopportune times to read this wonderful book when I should have been doing other things. The richness of all the characters - Jane's family and friends - was beautiful. I was especially pleased with the descriptions of all the different settings because it made it very easy to imagine life in Tudor England. If you love anything historical fiction, or Tudors, you will enjoy this book greatly!

This next book in the Six Tudor Queens series tells the story of Jane Seymour, third wife of King Henry VIII. This fictionalized tale of Jane's life begins at her childhood home of Wulfhall and, in time, we see how Jane came to serve as a maid-of-honor for the Queen—Katherine of Aragon, Henry's first wife. When she arrives, the King's pursuit of Anne Boleyn, another of Katherine's maid's-of-honor, is already well underway. Jane remains fiercely loyal to her beloved Queen Katherine, even after she is forced to leave her and serve Anne, instead. When Anne is unable to provide a son for the King, he sets his sights on Jane, and marries her eleven days after Anne's beheading. Jane was able to give Henry the son he so greatly desired, but died shortly thereafter.

I still haven't read the first book in this series, but I enjoyed the second very much. I was excited to read about Seymour, hoping it would be as enjoyable as the book about Boleyn.

Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen swept me back into the Tudor era and kept me enthralled the entire time. The fanciful element of Jane being haunted was a nice addition to the story; it was never over the top, and didn't detract anything from the main story. It was presented in such a way as to be believable that would Jane might feel haunted, and I enjoyed reading those portions.

The real Jane Seymour left behind no letters, so little is known about her thoughts on events that took place during her time at Court and, later, as Queen. Despite that, Weir has written a wonderful novel that makes fine use of the facts known about Jane, her family, and the time she spent with Henry.

Filled with rich imagery and careful attention to detail, Tudor fans are sure to love reading about Henry VIII's third bride... I certainly did!

This is the third book in Weir's historical fiction series about Henry VIII's wives. Despite being (yet again) lengthy, I felt that this book didn't drag as much as the others and had a more interesting and rounder main character, perhaps due to Jane Seymour not being as well documented as her predecessors, Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. Of course, the lack of historical record also means Weir has taken great liberty with Jane's character and several plot points -- she admits in her notes that as a historian she would never be able to make a case for some of her more controversial speculations, such as the extent of Jane and Henry's intimacy before their wedding and pregnancies other than the future Edward VI. I am still not a fan of the moment of death/"passing over" endings that seem to be a trope in this series. However, Weir is well versed in the Tudor court and her attention to detail makes this book a good fictional exploration of Jane Seymour's life. It is also interesting to see overlapping events from each woman's viewpoint, and I look forward to the remaining three volumes of the series.

I could not believe when I was approved for this title. Alison Weir is one of my favorite author. I was so excited I just about squealed when I got the book. I couldn't wait to get to read it (I read the book in the order I am accepted for them so that is why they may seem in odd placements. Anyway, I love historical fiction and the Tudor era is my favorite.

This books is number three (3) in her Six Tudor Queens series. I haven't read the first two (2) yet, because I have been busy reading other books, but I know enough about how Alison Weir writes and about the era that I could easily follow along. Plus, Alison Weir writes her books well enough you can pick them up at any point and read it and still follow along with them without too much problem figuring out the back story.

Getting to the book. This book is based on Jane Seymour, King Henry VIII third wife and the only one that produce a son for him. For which she tragically dies afterward. You start while Queen Katherine is still reigning as Queen and go through Anne Boleyn rising in power and then Anne Boleyn's fall from reign. You can see how different Jane and Anne are. In my honest opinion, Anne was a woman before her time. She wanted equal rule as Henry had and in that time that was not accepted. Anne was well learned and knew her opinion. The one thing she lacked was how to get her way without arguments and shrewish behavior. Something that Jane excelled at. Jane knew how to get her way by making Henry think he was the one that thought of it. This is how women would get their way in this time era, or at least the smart women did. Jane managed to reconcile Henry and his daughters not by arguing and "stamping her feet" but by careful conversation and suggestions. Jane Seymour was a wonderful queen and well deserving of the praise and love given to her.

She was the only one of King Henry's wives to give him a son. I agree with Alison Weir's determination of how Jane died. Though we will truly never know for certain due to the lack of medical knowledge back then but I completely agree with how Alison Weir thinks Jane died. Trust me, I honestly wanted to cry throughout the end of the book cause I knew what was gonna happen. In my opinion, Katherine (first wife) & Jane (third wife) were the only ones that truly loved the king. All the others were more after what <i>they</i> could gain from the marriage. Again this is my opinion.

Do you need to read this book??? A well rounded yell of YES! If you like Tudor era historical fiction then you can not go wrong with Alison Weir. She writes books that are engaging and keep you enthralled even if you know the story already. Even her non-fiction books are enjoyable to read and that says a lot cause I dislike non-fiction books. This honestly deserves more then five stars, more like ten in my opinion.

Alison Weir never disappoints. Jane Seymour is often overlooked in Tudor historical fiction. I appreciated being able to take a closer look at Jane's life. As always, Weir begins with solid historical research and then fills in the blanks to create her novel. She finishes with a lengthy authors note that explains what is known and what is fictionalized.
Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen is part of the Six Tudor Queens series, but can be read as a standalone novel. Recommended for Tudor fans.

Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen , is the third book in Alison Weir’s Six Tudor Queens series, and focuses on Henry VIII’s third wife, Jane Seymour. Told from first person perspective, we are given a glimpse into what life was like at the Tudor court during Henry VIII’s reign from the perspective of Jane.

Alison Weir never fails to amaze me with her astounding ability to bring 16th century England to life. Each time I open up one of her books, I feel as if I have been transported to a different time and place. Her writing is so rich and vivid, and I always feel as if I am right there in the midst of court life, feeling and seeing everything alongside all of the characters.

I really loved the first two books in the Six Tudor Queen series, and this third installment did not disappoint either. Although I didn’t love this one quite as much as the first two books in the series, it was still an amazing read. Jane Seymour is not my favorite of King Henry’s six wives, but I still have a certain fascination with her, as there is so much about her life that remains truly unknown, aside from the fact that she was the queen that finally gave Henry what he desired above all else: a son. Because of the fact that so little is known about Jane before she became Henry’s wife, I was eager to see what Alison Weir had to say about her, and as usual, Ms. Weir did not disappoint.

Using her vast knowledge of Tudor history, combined with her imagination, Alison Weir managed to weave together a vivid and richly detailed portrait of Jane Seymour’s life. Although I found this book to be a bit slower than the previous two, I still managed to be thoroughly engaged from start to finish. I really felt as if I got to know Jane and the innermost workings of her mind as I was reading, and I feel that I am now more knowledgeable about her, despite the fact that this book is a work of fiction.

The story opens when Jane is ten years old, and jumps forward to when she is eighteen years old. During Jane’s early years, she is adamant to become a nun, but decides that she doesn’t desire that path in life after all, and instead she goes to London to live at court, where she is first a lady-in-waiting to Katherine of Aragon, and then later on, to Anne Boleyn.

Jane was very fond of Katherine of Aragon, as well as devout in her Catholic faith and very against the religious reforms taking place at that time, and it is because of those things that she was not so fond of Anne Boleyn, and this grudge continued, even when Anne Boleyn became queen.

As an avid Anne Boleyn fan and supporter, I have to admit that at times my bias got the best of me, and I found myself annoyed at Jane and her thoughts towards Anne throughout the book. But at the same time, I could see why Jane felt the way she did about Anne, given the circumstances.

This book did drag a bit at times, mostly during during the middle of it. Still, I continued to be absorbed in the story as Jane tried to fit in and find her place in the intriguing and malicious court life. It was especially fascinating to read about how Jane, who is so often described as meek and plain, was able to gain the affections of King Henry and ascend to the throne.

Something that has always interested me about Jane is that, despite the fact that she was the queen that gave Henry his most desired wish (a son) and is said to be his favorite wife because of this, she is so often overshadowed by his other wives. I myself am guilty of not paying much attention to Jane Seymour, but because of this book, I was given the opportunity to gain insight into the life of the queen that I so often overlook.

This book was extremely well written and researched, and I was once again left in awe by Alison Weir’s work. This was not only a delightful glimpse into the life of Jane Seymour, but yet another remarkable tale of life in the Tudor era.

I truly enjoyed this book, and am very much looking forward to the next book in this series!

4.5/5 stars: **Thank you so much to the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book for review. This review will be posted on my blog, Amazon, and Goodreads closer to the release date.

Another great one in this series of Henry's 6 queens. I have one pre-ordered in hardback to add to my collection.

5 stars

The reader first makes Jane Seymour’s acquaintance when she is ten years old. She wants badly to be a nun. While her parents advise her to wait until she is eighteen, Jane finds it very hard to wait. When she enters the convent to make her final decision, she comes to the conclusion that the cloistered life is not for her.

With her brother Edward’s first marriage is in shambles, and the death of her sister Margery to the sweating sickness, not all is going well for the Seymour family. Jane secures a position in the palace in service to Queen Catherine. After several years of loyal service, she is persuaded by her ambitious family to go into service with the new Queen Anne. She is sorely tried to leave Catherine, but finally goes to Anne’s home.

After giving birth to a daughter and then having two miscarriages, Anne is losing her favor with the King Henry VIII. Jane is much distressed to learn that she has caught Henry’s eye. While she is still privately loyal to the Princess Dowager Catherine, she cannot stand Queen Anne. She tries to spurn Henry’s advances knowing that her virtue is a precious commodity. Finally, she gives in. She discovers that she is in love with Henry.

Jane is torn. Anne hates her and she is relieved to discover that she has an excuse to leave her service. Cromwell has given his quarters to her eldest brother Edward and his wife to use. She can live there. She meets Henry frequently. Henry proposes to her and Jane assumes that Anne will be sent to a nunnery and her marriage annulled based on Henry’s previous affair with Anne’s sister Mary.

But no, things get horrific when Anne is accused of both adultery and conspiring to murder the King. Jane feels sorry for her, but is elated that she will marry Henry. When the day of execution finally arrives, Jane feels awful. She marries Henry just days later.

She suffers two miscarriages and despairs that she can provide the King with the longed-for son. Jane’s sorrows are plenty. Although she finally got Henry to accept his daughters Mary and Elizabeth back into favor, the political climate is troubling. Jane is timid at times for Henry’s behavior is seemingly at odds with what he has told her.

Her final pregnancy is successful and she bears the King a son that they name Edward. That she dies of what we may only speculate. It is a tragedy and one has to wonder what would have become of Jane and England is she had not passed away.

Jane Seymour left very little behind. Much of this novel therefore must be guesswork. But Ms. Weir has done her research well and thoroughly, and gives the reader a plausible story of Jane’s life. While her family was certainly ambitious, as well all courtiers in King Henry VIII’s court, I don’t get the sense that they were any more ambitious than the Boleyn family. Sir Thomas Boleyn, later the Earl of Wiltshire, was widely known to be ready to sacrifice anything, even his children, to advance his favor with the King.

Ms. Weir draws a very good picture of the volatility of King Henry. It was during this period in his life that he became more intemperate and unstable. No longer the kind and generous man he was earlier in his life. One has to wonder just how much damage his marriage to Anne Boleyn did to him. Or perhaps it was his ailments, of which he suffered many. Maybe he was too much of a good-time man, and resented the burdens of ruling the country during this difficult period in history. We shall never really know. He was certainly good at justifying his action, no matter how disastrous or devastating they were.

Ms. Weir gives us another remarkable story of life in the Tudor times. This book is very well written, plotted and researched. I have read many of Alison Weir’s books, and this one is a bit of a departure. Since Jane Seymour left so little behind, this book is perhaps more speculation than her others. But it is based on extensive and exhaustive research. I truly enjoyed it. I am very much looking forward to reading the next in this series, and looking into the life of Anne of Cleves.

I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for forwarding to me a copy of this most remarkable book to read and enjoy.

SHE DID IT AGAIN! ANOTHER ALISON WEIR MASTERPIECE. I love her books. I read them all. And this one did not disappoint. I am captivated by all things Tudor and I did see Jane in a different light. I am glad to have been chosen to read this book through NetGalley. (bowing to author)

Jane Seymour: Haunted Queen is a riveting novel about Henry VIII’s third wife. Alison Weir does an incredible job at seamlessly blending fact and fiction. This is a must read for all historical fiction fans, especially ones slightly obsessed with the Tudor Dynasty.

I have read many of Weir’s books and have found that oftentimes she becomes mired down in facts, which loses the less academic of her readers. She avoids that pitfall here and keeps the reader on the hook. Basing a book on a figure whose end is known can be a challenge but, while adhering to facts, Weir creates an air of suspense and offers an intriguing new theory on events.

Jane Seymour is a well-known figure of history as she was the only one of Henry’s six wives to give him a male heir. However, very little is known about her life so I’m always interested in learning more about her. Weir is known for her in depth research and adherence to facts. Her knowledge and immersion in this period gives credence to her theories about the parts of Seymour’s life that are unknown.

Weir begins the novel with Jane as a girl of ten dedicated to becoming a nun. We see her traditional upbringing on an English estate as she learns domestic arts as well as more studious pursuits. Jane is raised to be loyal, faithful, and dutiful. She will be the picture of the typical wife of a landowner except for her adamant belief she should take vows and join a convent.

When Jane is eighteen she finally convinces her parents to allow her to enter a convent. However, after a probationary period with the nuns, Jane realizes that a cloistered life is not for her and so, she returns to Wulf Hall. Jane becomes restless as she struggles to discover what she wants in life.

As Jane flounders, her older brother Edward’s marriage disintegrates as his role in society grows. Jane’s father also falls off the pedestal on which Jane has him and she is forced to see beyond her sheltered ideals.

The second part of the novel begins with nineteen year old Jane entering the service of Queen Katherine just as Anne Boleyn is making her play for the king. Through Jane we see how Katherine is shunted aside for a younger, hopefully more fertile woman.

During part two and three, a very interesting struggle unfolds within Jane as she watches the Church she was committed to join being abandoned by her country while she is forced to embrace a new religion. Jane remains loyal to Katherine until her family forces her to join Anne’s court.

Jane watches as Anne’s influence wanes and the King’s interest turns to her. Jane is both torn and excited at the prospect of Henry’s attention but her family pushes her forward without hesitation. Part three ends with Anne’s execution and Jane’s pending nuptials.

Part Four details Jane’s rise to glory as she becomes Queen of England and Henry’s third wife. Jane is twenty-eight while Henry is forty-five. Jane struggles with the nuances of royalty and her sudden rise. She knows she must please Henry as she knows her fate is in his hands.

Jane cements her place in history when she gives Henry his long awaited male heir a little over a year and an half into their marriage. She story is tragically cut short when she dies two weeks after the birth of the prince.

While I, like most people, know the facts of Jane’s life, I was swept away by the possibilities that Weir used to populate the unknown parts. Weir’s attention to detail and devotion to research allow her to postulate plausible theories. This is Weir’s third installment of her series Six Tudor Queens and she shows no weariness of her subject.

I appreciate NetGalley making an advance copy of this novel available to me. Per the publisher’s instructions, this review will not be made available anywhere else on the internet until after its release date.