Documents of Lady Jane Grey: Nine Days Queen of England 1553 | 
 enlarge | Publisher: Algora Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $21.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 923359
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 208
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.8
ISBN: 0875863345
Dewey Decimal Number: 942.053092
EAN: 9780875863344
ASIN: 0875863345
Publication Date: March 3, 2008
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Product Description
Seeking to inform our understanding of one of history's most poignant, little-known heroines, Taylor has pulled together all of Lady Jane's literary remains, including some which may be apocryphal.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Little Actual History, A Lot of Romantic Nonsense June 26, 2008
When I first purchased this book I thought I was getting something legitimate, but after going through it I found myself asking over and over, "Is this for real?" The answer is no. I don't know if Jane Grey ever had a cousin named Anne, but if she did they wouldn't have written to each other in flowery 18th century sentences such as "Fly to your Anne" or "Adieu, hasten to your Jane Grey". All of Jane's letters are written in 16th century English and most of them are religious in tone and theme. The only people she would have flown to would have been her governess Mrs. Ellen and her teacher John Aylmer, to escape her abusive parents. Jane supposedly being distracted from her studies by falling for dashing young Guilford Dudley is ludicrous. Nothing could keep her from her daily lessons except marriage to Guilford, which her parents had to beat her into accepting. She disliked him for being spoiled and demanding while he very likely thought her a prudish little bookworm. My advice is to skip this book and go with Hester W. Chapman's "Lady Jane Grey", Alison Plowden's "Lady Jane Grey and the House of Suffolk", or even Alison Weir's novel "Innocent Traitor".
 Disappointing February 15, 2007
I have read much more reader friendly books that incorporate primary source documents. The book was dull and did not provide any new insights or information about an interesting character in the Tudor era.
 No embellishments on known facts, a refreshing change. January 20, 2007
I will admit that I was skeptical about this book after reading the contrasting feedback left by other readers but after completing the book I feel that Mr. Taylor should be commended for several reasons. First and perhaps that most important to a retired professor of European history as myself is that Mr. Taylor did not follow the same format as many "historians" do by using colorful embellishments to retell a few known facts. The second being that Mr. Taylor also refrained from criticizing other author's lack of information or misuse of. It is clear that Mr. Taylor only recites the sources that he felt were the most accurate. I have learned in 30 years of teaching college level classes that if you present 10 people with 10 primary and secondary sources that you will have 14 different opinions about them. I feel that Taylor's use of the Lane Letters is questionable and after contacting the author, he explained that the publisher omitted a sentence in the introduction indicating the use and source of letters. Nevertheless, the Lane Letters should have been placed in a separate chapter away from the main body of the book, but when they are read as the author intended, they are entertaining. Ill regardless of the rather harsh criticism left by another reader, I would have used the book in my classes if I were still teaching. Publishing Weekly left an accurate feedback and I do feel that there is a fresh approach here that does belong in a library. From what I can see, Mr. Taylor is the first to present all known information about this young lady. I look forward to a revision
Entertaining, but useless as legitimate history March 16, 2006
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Mr Taylor has clearly spent a great deal of time and effort in producing this volume. Unfortunately the result is useless for anything other than entertainment. It cannot in any way be called legitimate "history." The book is replete with flaws, errors and omissions. Mr Taylor relies very heavily on a late-eigtheenth century collection of "letters" published by William Lane through Minerva Press. The collection is tellingly entitled "Lady Jane Grey: An Histoircal TALE"..."tale" being the operative word. Mr Taylor notes that the Lane collection had been "lost" to historians for over 200 years until he "re-discovered" it. There is a good reason why the "letters" were "lost": any trained historian would immediately recognize them as complete fiction. The "letter" from Henry Grey to "Lord Protector" Northumberland, for example, reveals the fiction (p. 18-20, Lane Letter 86). Northumberland was never titled "Lord Protector," and Henry Grey would never have addressed him as such. Any trained historian familiar with the Tudor era would have known this. But Mr Taylor is apparently not a trained historian. This is evident from his bibliography. He has "primary" and "secondary" sources utterly confused. Further, he cites works such as Jane's prayerbook by using a secondary source (a later Harley Manuscript). The original prayerbook is Harley MS 2342, and has been microfilmed. That microfilm is available in many US libraries. Why not look at a microfilm of the original rather than a printed transcription of a later manuscript that simply describes the original? A serious error. And finally, in his bibliography he lists a work as having been written by Guglielmo Facciotti. In actuality, Facciotti was a PRINTER, not an author. He was active in Rome ca. 1592-1637. The AUTHOR of the work cited is actually Giovannni Raviglio-Rosso. Read this book for what it is: a compilation of factual AND FICTIONAL documents that take Jane Grey as their subject. But for legitimate ("real") history, look elsewhere. This book is a perfect example of why amateur historians and sloppy publishers should never be brought together. The result is a complete mess, and leaves readers completely misinformed and confused...and legitimate history teachers scrambling to pick up the pieces.
A great research tool April 21, 2005
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If the book is used as the author indicates it's only purpose is to be, which is for reference, then Mr. Taylor has done a great job of bringing all the literary remains of Lady Jane Grey together in one edition for others to use. Though I do not believe that the "Lane Letters" should have been included, I will commend Mr. Taylor on not following the format that some recent authors have chosen of embellishing a few facts and sensationalizing them to appeal to the masses. I have used this book in my classes and the book is a time saver for my students who often research Tudor history.
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