My Lady Jane, and the beauty of humorous historical retellings

I absolutely adore this book. It touches upon one of my favourite periods of British history, it mixes in magic with court machinations, and most importantly, it doesn't take itself seriously. Having read The Nine Days Queen at a tender young age, I was thrilled to discover a re-imagining of the tragic story which gives Jane Grey the ending she deserves. In fact, I even went so far as to look for spoilers to make sure the novel has a happy ending, reluctant to get invested in the whimsy and then have my hopes for Jane crushed.

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Spoiler: The novel does have a happy ending! YEY. Following this key discovery, I dove readily into the narrative, and let me tell you, it's a hilarious roller-coaster told from three different perspectives and peppered with anachronistic quips from the narrators which had me giggling to myself. Oh, and did I mention, it's actually super feminist and doesn't shy away from calling out the male character on their unconscious (or conscious) misogyny.

We’d fight so much less if everyone would just sit down and read.

Let me start with Jane Grey. She is my absolute hero. Even when I was younger and I was reading her real-life story, I was fascinated by her intelligence and her gumption. My Lady Jane takes all these traits and force-feeds them steroids. This Jane loves books, retains entirely too many useless facts and has zero time for anyone's shit, especially the men around her. Plus, she loves magic and secretly wishes she had some.

Unsurprisingly, she was my favourite character, and I found myself looking forward to her chapters. Jane knows what's going on, guys. She's not easily won over by a pretty face, she doesn't like being left in the dark, and she sure as hell isn't letting any men tell her what to do (even if it genuinely is for her own good). And although the narrative doesn't span long enough to give her love story a realistic time span, I'm giving it bonus points for extending the lead-up for as long as possible, and, dare I say, avoiding insta-love.

"You nearly died, and then who would I have argued with?" "You'd have found someone." "No." He stepped toward her. "I only want to argue with you.”

Gifford (call him G), is our unconventional love interest. He might even want you to refer to him as our male protagonist. Either way, despite being painted in a very Casanova light, G is actually quite a softie - instead of frequenting unsavoury, as rumour would have you believe, he writes and performs poetry.

Our boy G is also quite feminist, even if he doesn't consciously identify as such. Aside from some uncalled-for shade about Jane's hair, he's very respectful to her from the very beginning and treats her as an equal, books and all. In fact, he goes so far as backing her up multiple times, both as his queen and his wife, which might be unrealistic for the time period, but feels refreshing after having screamed at multiple retellings of Elisabeth v Mary Queen of Scots (we'll get back to her later) where we see men trying to undermine powerful women just because they are women, and therefore unfit to rule?! BULLSHIT.

I'm also a huge fan of the not-so-subtle links the authors have made between G and Shakespeare (by the end they all but spell it out for us). Whenever he comes up with a line of poetry that's straight up from the portfolio of the Bard, I can almost picture him looking at the camera and breaking the fourth wall with a meaningful eyebrow raise. The timing more or less checks out as well, which is even more exciting for me. (Yes, I know this is all fictional, let me have this, okay?!). I'm 100% here for one Mr Will Shakespeare shacking up with a very much alive Jane Grey, Anne Hathaway be damned.

He had to be surrounded by opinionated women who delighted in bossing him around.

Edward (you know, the king) is our third main character. In theory. In practice, I'd say he's more of a narrative device which allows the other women in the story to shine. My favourite part of his PoV chapters, and a serious highlight in the book as a whole, is the fictional glimpse it offers at Mary and Elisabeth before they become the legendary queens we know them as today. It's the historic fanfiction you never knew you needed, my fellow Tudor nerds!

Laugh alongside Edward as he makes fun of stern, has-a-stick-up-her-backside Mary, and marvel with him at the cleverness of Elisabeth as she saves his teenage ass and proves herself worthy of the crown. Also, he calls her Bess! Can you imagine, calling the greatest ruler England has ever had by a nickname? Subtle comedy gold.

We also have foxy rogue Gracie, who is the love interest that ultimately drives Edward to see ladies as equal and give up his crown to a person better suited to rule, disregarding their gender. While this particular romance is slightly cringe-worthy, due to Edward's lack of experience and overall naively misguided worldview, I like the power dynamic between the two and the feminist perspective Edward takes away from it.

We can't finish this review without returning, as promised, to Mary Queen of Scots. As someone who's also very invested in her personal history, I've lapped up various pieces of pop culture which present her in a very favourable light. The latest incarnation of her story for the big screen, featuring Saoirse Ronan, is absolutely breathtaking, but you won't be surprised - having now read this review - to find out that I also religiously followed CW's misguided but glamorous take on Mary Stuart's story, Reign.

Being so used to taking her side, I was thrown off by the portrayal she gets in this book, especially in the beginning. Although, to be fair, her image has been painted by Edward, who was even younger and more petulant when he last saw her, so him thinking she's awful is equivalent to young boys thinking all girls are gross in my books. When she finally shows up, she's still not as likeable as the Mary Stuart in my head-canon, but we see more glimpses of the clever young woman, and she's given magical powers, so I'm willing to overlook the unflattering portrayal and the shade thrown at Francis, who's a sweetheart.

Bottom line is, if you love humour, historical fiction, buck-wild plots, the Tudor England or any combination of the above, you should read this book. It's lighthearted, funny and, most importantly, it brings JUSTICE FOR JANE GREY. *mic drop*

5/5 stars