Crown of Blood: The Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey

by Nicola Tallis, Flosnik Anne (Read by)

Overview

A significant retelling of the often-misunderstood tale of Lady Jane Grey's journey through her trial and execution—recalling the dangerous plots and web of deadly intrigue in which she became involuntarily tangled, and which ultimately led to a catastrophic conclusion.

"Good people, I am come hither to die, and by a law I am condemned to the same.” These were the heartbreaking words of a seventeen-year-old girl, Lady Jane Grey, as she stood on the scaffold awaiting death on a cold February morning in 1554. Minutes later her head was struck from her body with a single stroke of a heavy axe. Her death for high treason sent shockwaves through the Tudor world, and served as a gruesome reminder to all who aspired to a crown that the axe could fall at any time.


Jane is known to history as "the Nine Days Queen," but her reign lasted, in fact, for thirteen days. The human and emotional aspects of her story have often been ignored, although she is remembered as one of the Tudor Era’s most tragic victims. While this is doubtlessly true, it is only part of the complex jigsaw of Jane’s story. She was a remarkable individual with a charismatic personality who earned the admiration and affection of many of those who knew her. All were impressed by her wit, passion, intelligence, and determined spirit. Furthermore, the recent trend of trying to highlight her achievements and her religious faith has, in fact, further obscured the real Jane, a young religious radical who saw herself as an advocate of the reformed faith—Protestantism—and ultimately became a martyr for it.

Crown of Blood is an important and significant retelling of an often-misunderstood tale: set at the time of Jane’s downfall and following her journey through to her trial and execution, each chapter moves between the past and the “present,” using a rich abundance of primary source material (some of which has never been published) in order to paint a vivid picture of Jane’s short and turbulent life. This dramatic narrative traces the dangerous plots and web of deadly intrigue in which Jane became involuntarily tangled—and which ultimately led to a shocking and catastrophic conclusion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781982586348
Publisher:	Blackstone Publishing
Publication date:	03/12/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 1.50(h) x 5.00(d)

About the Author

Nicola Tallis achieved a first-class bachelor’s degree with honors in history from Bath Spa University. She also has an MA in Public History from Royal Holloway College, University of London. Nicola has been passionate about English history all of her life, and has worked as a curator, lecturer, and historical researcher. She is currently the resident historian for Alison Weir Tours. Crown of Blood, her first book, is the result of five years of research on the Grey family.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix

Genealogical Tables xi

Timeline xiv

Author's Note xvi

Introduction xvii

Prologue xxiii

Chapter 1 A Time to be Born and a Time to Die 1

Chapter 2 Rejoiced All True Hearts 19

Chapter 3 Anyone More Deserving of Respect 36

Chapter 4 The Imperial Crown 51

Chapter 5 A Loving and Kind Father 60

Chapter 6 A Second Court of Right 69

Chapter 7 Ruled and Framed Towards Virtue 77

Chapter 8 She Did Never Love Her After 88

Chapter 9 I Think Myself in Hell 98

Chapter 10 Godly Instruction 118

Chapter 11 A Comely, Virtuous and Goodly Gentleman 126

Chapter 12 The First Act of a Tragedy 135

Chapter 13 Long Live the Queen! 154

Chapter 14 Falsely Styled Queen 169

Chapter 15 Jana Non Regina 181

Chapter 16 Shut Up in the Tower 190

Chapter 17 Jane of Suffolk Deserved Death 200

Chapter 18 Justice is an Excellent Virtue 215

Chapter 19 Fear Not for Any Pain 230

Chapter 20 Liberty of the Tower 237

Chapter 21 The Permanent Ruin of the Ancient House of Grey 248

Chapter 22 Bound by Indissoluble Ties 259

Chapter 23 I am Come Hither to Die 270

Chapter 24 God and Posterity Will Show Me Favour 280

Epilogue 291

Appendix 1 The Queen Without a Face: Portraits of Lady Jane Grey 296

Appendix 2 Jane's Debate with Dr John Feckenham 299

Appendix 3 Following in Jane's Footsteps: Places to Visit 304

Notes and References 308

Bibliography 352

Acknowledgements 363

Index 365

Editorial Reviews

★ 10/10/2016
British historian Tallis portrays nine-day queen Grey (1536/1537–1554) as a determined, devout, and clothes-loving teenager whose intellect, youth, and religious fervor perpetuate her mythologizing centuries later. During the dawn of English Protestantism, Grey vigorously discussed religious tenets with both Catholic and Protestant theologians, garnering praise for her understanding and later inspiring her inclusion in John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. Tallis humanizes Grey, showing her willfulness—she refused to corule with her husband, whose father placed her on the throne—as well as her desperation to please her remarkably unwise parents, whose ambition cost Jane her freedom and life. Popular myths and earlier historical interpretations of key events receive fresh analysis aided by diligent research (a minor complaint is an odd reference to Henry VIII’s “divorce” of Anne of Cleves—it was technically annulled). Tallis’s clear writing and well-paced narrative heighten the story’s climactic and tragic ending. She also pays careful attention to the relationship between Mary I and Grey, noting warm, long-standing family ties and similarities in religious fervor—albeit for different denominations—and key differences in how each approached her claim to the throne. Tallis successfully champions Jane’s reign as legitimate and elucidates her role as a key player in the battle for England’s official church. Illus. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

This is a wonderful investigation of Lady Jane Grey, enlightening and gripping, full of superb research and beautifully written. Nicola Tallis gives the tragic nine day queen brilliant and fascinating life.

Kate Williams

Crown of Blood is authoritative, thoughtful, and elegantly written. Telling use of original sources makes fresh and vivid—as well as moving—the story of a girl too often dismissed as a mere blank canvas onto which others could write. A genuinely impressive debut.

Sarah Gristwood

Through meticulous research, Nicola Tallis pieces Lady Jane Grey’s fascinating story together, and in so doing brings this extraordinary young woman vividly to life. Engagingly written and utterly compelling throughout. A stunning debut.

Tracy Borman

This is a stunning debut from a young historian who deserves to be recognized as a major talent in her field. It's history as it should be written, vivid, colorful, pacy and evocative, but above all authentic and based on sound and innovative research. It's an outstanding contribution to our knowledge of Lady Jane Grey. Most warmly recommended!

Alison Weir

Tallis takes this thin slice of fact and serves it up as a full banquet, filling in history’s faint outline. The telling is by necessity speculative, since so little primary source material exists. Nevertheless, Tallis perseveres, presenting Jane as 'a spirited girl who demonstrated character, passion, talent and strength,' a serious bookworm who grew up in a household where new ideas flourished.

New York Times Book Review

Tallis brings this tragic teen to vivid life in her perceptive and thoughtful new book.

Christian Science Monitor

Tallis narrates these dramatic events with all the verve and excitement that they deserve. Her portrait of Jane as something of a feminist before her time carries complete conviction. Nicola Tallis combines Jane’s virtues as a scrupulous scholar herself, with a colorful background of how Tudor England looked, sounded and smelled. She has succeeded in drawing Jane out of the shadows.

The Spectator (UK)

10/15/2016
The tragic life and short (nine-day) reign of English monarch Lady Jane Grey (1537–54) is eloquently explored in debut author Tallis's biography of the precocious 17-year-old who dared to wear the crown between the reigns of Edward VI and Mary I. Ably guiding readers through the complex maze of familial connections and Tudor politics, the author presents an engaging portrait of a young woman whose sole crime was having had the misfortune to be born the great-niece of Henry VIII. Undoubtedly an innocent victim of the ambitions and machinations of those around her, Jane experienced a devastating downfall, an aspect of her life on which this study doesn't dwell. This account is particularly noteworthy for its exploration of Jane's accomplishments, foremost among them her intellectual attainments and correspondence with leading Protestant figures. Tallis illustrates how Jane's steadfast devotion to Protestantism, even in the face of imminent death, makes her more than a mere pawn in a power struggle but an important historical figure in her own right and fully worthy of being studied alongside the rest of England's queens. VERDICT Highly recommended for readers interested in British history or the Tudor era.—Sara Shreve, Newton, KS

Library Journal

2016-09-27
A new biography of the Nine Day Queen, “a young lady sacrificed through the actions of powerful and ambitious manipulators in the complex world of sixteenth-century politics.”After the death of Protestant Edward VI in 1553, his Catholic sister, Mary, was heir to the English throne. Preferring a Protestant, the dying Edward proclaimed his 17-year-old cousin, Lady Jane Grey, as his successor. Most lords were too law-abiding to tolerate this action, so she was quickly deposed and executed. Many scholars of the period mention this in passing, but in her first book, Tallis, resident historian for Alison Weir Tours, makes an energetic case that Grey deserves more attention. Almost all existing documents cover only her final months, but Tallis does an admirable job turning up sources on her subject’s early life which concentrate on her high-ranking parents and Jane’s intense religious education; she was very pious. As is usual for biographies where evidence is lacking, the author concentrates on the great events of those years that are turbulent enough to satisfy readers. Henry VIIII, despite breaking with the pope, had little interest in radical religious reform. This was not the case after his son, Edward VI, succeeded in 1547. With approval of the new king, Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, pushed through changes that created a visibly Protestant Church of England. Most Englishmen remained Catholic, and even sympathetic nobles felt that Mary’s legal claim to the throne overrode religious considerations, so Edward’s deathbed decree was brushed aside. Jane was never crowned, but neither were Edward V or Edward VIII, so the author maintains that she was queen of England, if only for slightly less than a fortnight. Readers will share Tallis’ sympathy with the devout, passive Jane but also approve of her emphasis on the more powerful, ambitious, and unpleasant men and women that surrounded her.

Kirkus Reviews