I am now a condemned traitor . . . I am to die when I have hardly begun
to live.
Historical expertise marries page-turning fiction in Alison Weir's
enthralling debut novel, breathing new life into one of the most
significant and tumultuous periods of the English monarchy. It is the
story of Lady Jane Grey-"the Nine Days' Queen"-a fifteen-year-old girl
who unwittingly finds herself at the center of the religious and civil
unrest that nearly toppled the fabled House of Tudor during the
sixteenth century.
The child of a scheming father and a ruthless mother, for whom she is
merely a pawn in a dynastic game with the highest stakes, Jane Grey was
born during the harrowingly turbulent period between Anne Boleyn's
beheading and the demise of Jane's infamous great-uncle, King Henry
VIII. With the premature passing of Jane's adolescent cousin, and
Henry's successor, King Edward VI, comes a struggle for supremacy fueled
by political machinations and lethal religious fervor.
Unabashedly honest and exceptionally intelligent, Jane possesses a sound
strength of character beyond her years that equips her to weather the
vicious storm. And though she has no ambitions to rule, preferring to
immerse herself in books and religious studies, she is forced to accept
the crown, and by so doing sets off a firestorm of intrigue, betrayal,
and tragedy.
Alison Weir uses her unmatched skills as a historian to enliven the many
dynamic characters of this majestic drama. Along with Lady Jane Grey,
Weir vividly renders her devious parents; her much-loved nanny; the
benevolent Queen Katherine Parr; Jane's ambitious cousins; the Catholic
"Bloody" Mary, who will stop at nothing to seize the throne; and the
protestant and future queen Elizabeth. Readers venture inside royal
drawing rooms and bedchambers to witness the power-grabbing that swirls
around Lady Jane Grey from the day of her birth to her unbearably
poignant death. Innocent Traitor paints a complete and compelling
portrait of this captivating young woman, a faithful servant of God
whose short reign and brief life would make her a legend.
"An impressive debut. Weir shows skill at plotting and maintaining
tension, and she is clearly going to be a major player in the . . .
historical fiction game."
-The Independent
"Alison Weir is one of our greatest popular historians. In her first
work of fiction . . . Weir manages her heroine's voice brilliantly,
respecting the past's distance while conjuring a dignified and fiercely
modern spirit."
-London Daily Mail
