Sisters Of Treason
Elizabeth Fremantle
Simon & Schuster, Jul 8 2014, $25.99
ISBN: 9781476703091
In 1553, teenage Jane Grey became Queen of England
with the death of King Edward VI, who selected her as his successor
instead of his Catholic sister Mary. Nine days later, Mary overthrows Queen Jane
and locks her in the Tower. In 1554
Queen Mary beheads Jane.
Jane’s worried mother Frances rusticates since her two living daughters (Katherine and Mary) have legitimate claims to the English
throne; but neither daughter pursues it out of fear of being publicly executed
by bloody Queen Mary. Instead each is
cautious at court though flirty Katherine less so. Meanwhile royal painter Levina Teerlinc tries
to guide the sisters from stepping into an unintended brouhaha. When Elizabeth replaces her late sister on
the throne, the Grey siblings feel safer to follow love, but fail to comprehend
their monarch’s wrath for not obtaining her approval.
The latest Elizabeth Fremantle’s Tudor biographical fiction (see Queen’s Gambit)
brings an intriguing freshness through the cautious eyes of the late Lady Jane
Grey’s two younger sisters and the artist trying to help them keep their heads. Rotating perspective between the sisters and
the painter, subgenre readers will gain much pleasure from this strong look at an
era of cutthroat female power. A
bibliography is included, of which I suggest The Sisters Who Would Be Queen by
Leanda de Lisle (in fairness the only one I read) for those seeking nonfiction
insight.
Harriet Klausner
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