The Nine Days Queen: A Portrait of Lady Jane Grey

Luke (Catherine, the Queen, etc.) excels as a biographer who vivifies historical figures, particularly the manipulators of events during the Tudor monarchy. Born in 1537, Lady Jane Grey was destined to be a tool of ""rotten and injurious'' persons, which included her parents who forced the 15-year-old to marry Lord Dudley's son Guilford with the intention of making the young pair England's rulers after the death of Edward, successor to King Henry VIII. Leading a cabal, Dudley declared Henry's daughters Mary and Elizabeth bastards, thus usurping the throne. Because her mother was Henry's niece, Jane ascended in the royal lineage, and she accepted the crown as her parents' mistreatment had taught her to be submissive. After nine days, the public clamor for a rightful queen brought Mary forward to claim her inheritance, ending Jane's reign. She was 16 when she was beheaded, a victim of crimes committed by others. The author arouses the reader's deep sympathy for Lady Jane. Illustrations not seen by PW. (June 18