[Books] The Sisters who would be Queen
This is a foray into something that I'd quite like to try and make a permanent feature in some form. During my time at university I had to read so intensely and so much that I simply lost my passion for reading for pleasure. I only read internet based fiction in my down time, which was sometimes a lifesaver from hellishly complex historical readings. But since graduating I've got my groove back, and attempting to write a few book reviews seems a nice way of challenging myself to not only get back to writing, but to also continue to think critically about what I'm reading.
Leanda de Lisle's book is one that caught my eye about five years ago. (Yes, it's taken me that long to get around to reading it.) I've fallen victim to the self same 'fabrications' that sprung up around Lady Jane Grey, and the romanticisation of it is what drew me to this book. Or rather should I say this book claiming to demystify the Nine Day Queen (and that this moniker is proven to be contemporary is one of the interesting facts of the book). Not only that, but to give more details on her family as a whole, and to dedicate two-thirds of the book to her younger two sisters: Katherine and Mary. As much as I have always loved the Tudor period, I've never really delved into the intricacies of it in the same way that I did the medieval period at university. That appears to be changing this year, as I'm hungry to read more after finishing this book.
de Lisle's approach is both reader-friendly, and clearly well-researched. Though classed more as 'popular' history, it carries a weight that means both the amateur and interested historian can get something from the book. Jane's rebirth from the Victorian white washing is a timely event, and it interests me to find out whether other historians actually did do this prior to this point, and if any have built on it since.
At the heart of it lies Henry VIII, naturally, as he casts the longest shadow over the Tudor period. A question of succession catapulted the three Grey sisters into being heirs to the throne through their mother who was the child of Henry's younger sister, Mary. As it was decreed in his will, if all other lines of succession were exhausted, then Jane would be queen as both Mary and Elizabeth had been declared illegitimate. For Jane's story there is little that can be added in this review, but for a few important facts. Jane was incredibly well learnt. Brought up in the same style as an heir-apparent, she was fluent in Latin, Greek, French and Italian, and was learning Arabic and Hebrew. She conversed via letters with the leading thinkers of her day, and for all her youth was ably fitted to be the opposing force in the ideological religious struggle that was raging at this point in history. Her fall and subsequent execution is well documented and widely known, but that of her sisters is not.
The second sister seemed destined to avoid Jane's misfortune, but then she met the Earl of Hertford. Edward, or Ned as she fondly called him (and even better 'Naughty Ned' at one point), also had a claim to the throne descended as he was from Edward III. Joining with Katherine made them a formidable force by this point, and especially as it was now Elizabeth on the throne a woman who could not marry who she wanted to and who showed no sign of agreeing to name a successor. If Katherine married Edward and had a male child, then there would be serious consideration of a coup against Elizabeth. So they married in secret, and shortly after Katherine became pregnant. It feels as though events, even though seen here in hindsight, had a life of their own. More than once the feeling that I've had when reading anything relating to the Tudor period. I feel that there's never been another time in history where simple human nature has ruled so clearly. Elizabeth was a strong ruler. She had to be. But at the same time she was her father's daughter. She had seen her mother fall and be executed, and how her half-sister's rule had been judged. When she discovered Katherine's pregnancy and marriage (though she declared it illegitimate through lack of witnesses actually at the ceremony) her reaction was reminiscent of her father's cold-hearted approach to apparent weakness. She separated the lovers in the tower to begin with, where Katherine gave birth to a son, Beauchamp, and then, after discovering that they had managed to have sex yet again, and not only that but also conceive a second son, she split the family apart and had them imprisoned in royal houses around the country. Though Katherine had her youngest son with her, Thomas, she was never to see Edward or Beauchamp again, and died seven years later. She had never been freed and was 27. The common belief at the time was that she had starved herself to death.
At this point you hope that Mary, the last and youngest sister, would have more sense or luck. The answer to this is that she both did, and did not. As Katherine before her she fell in love. As Katherine before her she decided to marry in secret. Her husband was Thomas Keyes, serjeant porter to Elizabeth. Predictably as soon as Elizabeth discovered this she split the couple and Thomas was sent to prison, whilst Mary faced her sister's fate and was imprisoned in various royal houses. Anecdotally, Mary was the smallest lady at court, apparently through a condition unknown at the time, whilst Thomas was the largest man. Though ill-matched in size, the love between them was clearly very strong, though just as before, Mary would never see Thomas again. Though he was freed, he died before she was, despite many petitions to Elizabeth. Once this happened, Elizabeth eventually freed Mary and she even managed to build her own small household. She lived until she was 33, finally succumbing to an outbreak of plague in London.
Outer relationships are touched on throughout the book, and these add colour and depth to the situation. The Grey sisters are the main focus, but the satellite characters aren't glossed over by any means. What this results in is a book with depth and a real sense of time and place, whilst also showing how the attitudes to women altered only a few years later, and the constant battles that were taking place not only religiously, but also between the sexes. One of the most powerful images is not to do with the sisters at all, but of an aged Elizabeth, days from death, and too scared to go to bed but sitting in her privy chamber, in case her councillors forced her hand over making her declare an heir. To the end women were viewed as dangerous and weak, led too much by their emotions and misunderstood by the men who were so used to ruling around them. Especially ones such as the Grey sisters.