Book review: Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir

When I was in high school, my mom was reading a book called The Six Wives of Henry VIII. At one point, she copied down one of Henry's poems to Anne Boleyn and gave it to me ("Green Grows The Holly"). Being young, American, and ignorant, I had no idea who or what the hell she was talking about. I think I had, at that point, seen the movie Elizabeth with Cate Blanchett (and oh, Joseph Fiennes!), but I hadn't thought about anything beyond that. I think it was the poem that led to me reading the book. I'd expected it to be dry and boring--after all, it's history! But I loved it, and it sparked a waxing and waning interest in Tudor England that's lasted for about ten years. Typically something will happen to re-awaken my interest, I'll re-read Six Wives, continue with whatever else originally sparked it, and then ... um ... get distracted with a-ha or House or god knows what else.

All of this is to say two things: I knew of Lady Jane Grey, but not in depth, and when I saw Alison Weir had started writing fiction novels, I jumped in and read Innocent Traitor. And although it was interesting enough, I still put it aside for almost a week to read other things, something I almost never do. A book this size I normally would've finished in a few hours if uninterrupted, but it just couldn't hold my interest that long.

At first, I thought it was because of the simple fact that I already knew the outcome. I knew Jane ended up being queen for nine days and then got her head chopped off. So I thought that was what was holding me back. However, I eventually realized it was more complicated. The first issue, I think, as the fact that the entire book is in first person ... but from the perspective of quite a few peoples' internal dialogue. I can think of at least seven narrators off the top of my head. Honestly, it just gets confusing after a while, especially since there's no distinctive "voice" to each. They're all in the same thoughtful, self-aware, carefully conscious voice, and the only way to tell them apart is by the headings or the events.

The other issue is the fact that I just didn't much care for the character of Jane after her early childhood. I swung from pity for a child who was abused, to disbelief that someone so young could suddenly grasp the fundamental difference between Protestantism and Catholicism, to annoyance that she suddenly was all holier-than-thou to everyone around her, and eventually a sort of disbelief. I realize that when reading these sorts of books, you had to accept the fact that women had few personal freedoms and were the property of men. I also realize that religion was an unchallenged, permeating tenant of peoples' lives.

But when Jane, suddenly confronted with being queen because of others' machinations, convinces herself that God wants her to be queen to keep the country Protestant, I just gagged. Even moreso when she feels sorry for her husband who raped her (which we got two or three graphic descriptions of). As sad as it was that a brilliant, introverted woman got pushed on to the throne and ultimately beheaded, by the time the book ended, I was basically sick of Lady Jane.