Plain Jane: A Novel of Jane Seymour (Tudor Women Series)
by Laurien Gardner
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Book Summary Information
Author: Laurien GardnerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-06-27
ISBN: 0515141550
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Jove
Book Reviews of Plain Jane: A Novel of Jane Seymour (Tudor Women Series)
Book Review: a nice enough read
Summary: 3 Stars
Truth to tell, I've always had a soft spot for Jane Seymour, Henry VIII's third wife, even if I have found it a little difficult to relate to her. There's something about the picture of how a calm, practical young woman was able to heal a few rifts and naviagate her way through a chancey and treacherous court before her untimely death that captures the imagination. Strangely enough, not much is known about Jane Seymour. Was she the pious, naive, country girl, who against all the odds, captured the fancy and affections of a king? Or was she an ambitious and conniving young woman who saw an opportunity and pounced? Many authors and historians have settled for portraying Jane Seymour as a colourless noneity; Laurien Gardner, on the other hand, has tried to portray Jane as something a little between these two extremes, and so making "Plain Jane" a rather engaging read, and something a little different from everything else out there.
Jane Seymour was nine when she overheard her parents bemoaning her lack of looks. Miserable and angry because their easy dismissal of her, Jane resolves to have a better future for herself than any of her clever brothers and pretty sisters. But as the years pass, Jane sees her hopes and opportunities dwindle to nothingness. That is until her uncle, Sir Francis Bryan, a friend of the King's, comes for a visit. Seeing in Jane something that her parents have seemingly easily missed, Sir Francis manages to finagle a place for Jane amongst Catherine of Aragon's ladies. Jane is finally getting the opportunity to spread her wings and make that future she promised herself all those years ago -- will she succeed?
While I found "Plain Jane" to be a fairly absorbing read, I did find the book a little tedious in parts -- like when the author keeps going over the fact that everyone finds Jane plain and dull, for instance. Another thing that irked was how we were constantly being told how intelligant Jane is, and yet we're not really shown this, or least not very much. In fact there were instances where I wondered about Jane's supposedly superior intellect. On the other hand, I did think that the author did a wonderful job of showing us why Henry would have preferred quiet, unassuming Jane over the tumultuous and tempestuous Anne. I also liked that the author gave Jane spunk and determination, and that she didn't portray Jane as a meek, pious weakling. On the whole, "Plain Jane" was a well written book -- the author did a good job of portraying Jane's life at home and at court, and various characters' reaction to and treatment of her (as well as her reactions to them). The problem I had with the book stemmed from the feeling of a lack of continuity (this may have something to do with the lack of a concrete time line -- chapter headings with dates might have been nice); the hammering home, once too often, that Jane was plain; and that Jane seemed to hover between being canny and coy. Perhaps the author should have used the voice of another to tell Jane's story as was done in "The Spanish Bride" & "A Lady Raised High?" However, in spite of all my reservations I did think that "Plain Jane" was a good effort and is well worth it's modest cover price.
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