Even though this reviewer read Alison Plowden’s Lady Jane Grey: Nine Days Queen many years ago, it recently came to my attention and so I pulled out my notes to write a review.

Was Jane’s life tragic? Yes. Misunderstood? Yes. Plowden sheds light on Jane’s nurtured intelligence and her scholarly pursuits (which were interrupted due to her proximity to the throne), religious convictions (which were more radically Protestant then most of the country), and the political alliances (which ultimately sealed her fate).

Plowden provided a well-sourced narrative which unfortunately leaned more on secondary sources, that was accessible to more casual readers yet suitable for those with a background in the Tudor era. Any analysis of the broader political and religious themes is perfunctory.   Was Jane a victim?  Yes. Full of resolve? Yes. Plowden expresses the ambitions and motivations of the key figures surrounding Jane and her successor, while falling for the usual issue with biographers—sympathy toward her subject. Yet any reader has to understand the sacrifices that this young woman’s life held for her country and family.