Jane Seymour, the Haunted Queen

April 1, 2018
The brief reign of a reluctant queen.In the third volume of her six-novel series on the unfortunate wives of Henry VIII, Weir (Anne Boleyn, A King's Obsession, 2017, etc.) offers a dramatic and empathic portrait of Jane Seymour, horrified witness to the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn and to the "seismic changes...taking place in the English Church." As a teenager, Jane pleads for permission to become a nun, much to her parents' dismay: They want her to make an astute marriage that will propel the family up the social ladder. Although they eventually give in, Jane finally wavers in her commitment to the religious life; and at the age of 19, through the ministrations of a family friend, she leaves Wulfhall, the Seymour homestead, to become one of 30 maids of honor to Katherine of Aragon. Quiet, diffident, "whitely pale" (Weir speculates that she may have been anemic), Jane has little confidence that she will ever attract a suitor. She grows devoted to the maternal Katherine, despondent at Henry's cruel treatment of the woman she insists is the only true queen. As Henry exiles Katherine to one residence and another, Jane stays with her until the maids of honor are drastically reduced and Jane is forced to attend Lady Anne at court. "I hate her and all she stands for!" Jane weeps. Much of the novel reprises events from the first two volumes: Katherine's exile and death; Henry's passionate determination to marry Anne; the birth of their only living child, Elizabeth; the stillbirths of 2 sons and miscarriage of another; and accusations of infidelity and treason that led to Anne's beheading--a violent end that haunts Jane. Weir portrays Jane as determinedly virtuous, giving in to Henry's passion only after she has fallen in love with him and is assured that he means to marry her. Historical sources persuade Weir that Jane was a "humane and sympathetic personality." Henry ardently professes his adoration, overcome with joy when she produces the son he desperately desires. Weeks later, powerless to save her, he watches her die.Deft, authoritative biographical fiction.

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July 16, 2018
This third volume in the Six Tudor Queens series, following books on Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, is a sumptuous historical novel anchored by its excellent depiction of Jane Seymour, Henry the VIII’s third queen. Weir begins the story of Jane, the daughter of a wealthy knight, by exploring a historical but unclear family scandal from Jane’s youth, which Weir imagines to be an affair between Jane’s father and sister-in-law. Throughout, she paints Jane as a fairly innocent young woman, even imagining that she may have entertained life as a nun when she was a girl. Weir devotes most of the plot to Jane’s time as a maid of honor, first to Queen Katherine and then, after Katherine’s divorce, to Queen Anne. A church traditionalist, Jane attempts to use her influence on Henry (once they do finally marry) to restore Princess Mary to his good graces and to limit the divestitures of the monasteries. Of course, being a novel of the Tudors, there is a great deal of description devoted to the lavish clothing, foods, architecture, and pageantry of the royal court. Weir also does not stint on the various scandals and uproars of the time. This is a must for all fans of Tudor fiction and history.

Starred review from April 15, 2018
Jane Seymour, the queen who bore Henry VIII's longed-for son and died shortly afterward, left little behind in period sources, and popular history stereotypes her as meek and plain. Best-selling Weir's impressive novel shows why Jane deserves renewed attention. Without any dull moments, Weir illustrates Jane's unlikely journey from country knight's daughter to queen of England. To evade the domestic scandal stemming from her brother's unhappy marriage, the devout, sympathetic Jane comes to court as one of Katherine of Aragon's maids of honor. This third volume in Weir's exceptional Six Tudor Queens series offers new angles on its earlier subjects: Katherine, aging, resolute, and losing influence, yet kind to her ladies; and sharp-tongued Anne Boleyn, whose religious beliefs Jane finds dangerous. A woman of principle, Jane courageously holds her own among prominent court personalities, no easy feat. Later, as Anne's influence wanes, Jane intelligently navigates a path amid a surprising romantic pursuit by King Henry, whose love and generosity initially overshadow his crueler side, and her family's ambitions. From the richly appointed decor to the religious tenor of the time, the historical ambience is first-rate. With her standout novel in the crowded Tudor-fiction field, Weir keeps the tension high, breathing new life into a familiar tale and making us wish for a different ending.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

Starred review from April 15, 2018

Often overshadowed by her infamous predecessor, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour is often remembered as Henry VIII's meek third wife who died after finally giving him a son. Here, historian and novelist Weir (The Life of Elizabeth I) paints a fuller picture of Jane's life that attempts to answer lasting questions about her desires and choices, and the role she played in Anne's fatal fall from grace. Weir resists casting Jane as a mere pawn of her ambitious family, instead showing how her deep religious faith and time spent serving Katherine of Aragon as a young woman may have helped her justify her romance with Henry as an irresistible opportunity to play a part in her country's destiny and right past wrongs. As with the earlier novels in the "Six Tudor Queens" series, about Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, Weir focuses tightly on the sole perspective of her protagonist, thereby finding enough relatively fresh territory to keep even die-hard Tudor buffs interested. A fascinating afterword sheds light on Weir's departures from the confirmed historical record and on the additional research she did for this novel, including an investigation of how exactly Jane died. VERDICT Highly recommended for fans of the period. [See Prepub Alert, 11/26/17.]--Mara Bandy Fass, Champaign P.L., IL

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