‘The Tragic Life of Lady Jane Grey’ by Beverley Adams was published earlier this month by Pen and Sword.
Beverley is also the author of ‘The Forgotten Tudor Royal: Margaret Douglas, Grandmother to King James VI & I’, ‘The Rebel Suffragette: The Life of Edith Rigby’ and ‘Ada Lovelace: The World’s First Computer Programmer.’
Buy ‘The Tragic Life of Lady Jane Grey’:
Follow Beverley on Social Media:
Website – Beverley Adams
Twitter/X – @WriterBeverleyA
Many thanks to Beverley for answering my questions.
Why did you choose this subject for your book?
I always write about women from history. I enjoyed researching & writing my first Tudor book about Margaret Douglas and wanted to further that by focusing on another Tudor lady. Jane just seemed like a natural choice for me, I have always been interested in her but had only ever read fiction books and I knew the research into her life would be fascinating, I was also intrigued to find out just how close she, and her family, actually were to the throne.
What does your book add to previous works about Jane?
I will be honest and say that it probably does not add to anything new to what we already know of her life but what it does do, is bring together Jane’s life, and that of her family, into one place. It explores how she came to be in the position of Queen and how she lost that position. It is also my interpretation of the facts, the question I set out with at the beginning was ‘Was she really that innocent? and I hope I’ve done that.
Do you think Edward VI or John Dudley was the instigator of the ‘Devise for the Succession’?
That is such a good question and one that is very tricky to answer given we are not privy to every conversation that took place. In my opinion, I think Dudley planted the seed in Edward’s mind and then encouraged the king to develop that idea so that it became his own. At some point, Dudley formed the idea of placing Jane on the throne, that was his end goal but at what stage he formed that plan I don’t think we can say for certain.
What surprised you most writing this book?
The role her father played in her downfall. I knew he had something to do with Jane’s final demise but until I started my research, I didn’t know just how much of a foolish man he was. After being given a reprieve by Queen Mary, thanks to his wife, he couldn’t help but get involved in plots to remove the queen. It surprised me how much religion influenced people’s actions and behaviours, even if that meant impacting your own family, either that or he was stupid, I haven’t decided!
The other thing that surprised me was Jane’s resilience, her strength of character was immense and her religious fanaticism was off the scale, but in the end, it was her religion that kept her strong and gave her the power to walk to that scaffold as calmly as she did. She had been wronged and she knew it but her belief in God comforted her, many would have railed against the injustice but this 16-year-old girl remained dignified until the end.
Do you consider Jane to be Queen of England or a usurper?
That is such a tough question! On the one hand, we can argue she wasn’t Queen of England. She wasn’t crowned & Edward VI’s Devise for the Succession was not a legally binding document, history tells us she was manoeuvred into that role by John Dudley and therefore a usurper, whether willingly or not she took a crown she knew was not hers to take. But, on the other hand, Edward V & Edward VIII were not crowned yet we consider them kings each with a regnal number. Jane was proclaimed Queen across London, just as any monarch is before they are crowned so why cannot she be called a Queen of England? Regardless of the answer to this, and people will have their own views, Jane will always be known to history as Lady Jane Grey, the ‘Nine Days Queen’.
In my view, yes she was the queen of England, she just wasn’t one for very long.
