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A review by jassmine
The Sisters Who Would Be Queen: Mary, Katherine, and Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Tragedy by Leanda de Lisle
4.0
I picked this book up because of my late obsession with [b:My Lady Jane|22840421|My Lady Jane (The Lady Janies, #1)|Cynthia Hand|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1444923765l/22840421._SY75_.jpg|42397220] (both the book and especially the TV show) and I just needed MORE, so after going through a few more books in that series I wanted to pick a non-fic about Lady Jane Grey. I'm honestly not sure this served that purpose that well, but in the end I did learn a lot from this book, even if not what I wanted going into it.
This is my personal taste thing, but I do prefer when historical biographies try to be more personal even if it involves some speculation on the writer's part. Earlier this year, I read [b:Romantic Outlaws|25324105|Romantic Outlaws The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley|Charlotte Gordon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1450795048l/25324105._SY75_.jpg|41681472], also a historical biography, but [a:Charlotte Gordon|535959|Charlotte Gordon|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1426802622p2/535959.jpg] made me feel like I personally met every - even minor - person involved and almost gave me peek into their souls. I didn't always agree with her readings, but everybody felt as a person. Leanda de Lisle on the other hand focuses way more on the political machinations and situation than the people involved. This for me applied especially to the parts about Jane Grey where I didn't really feel like I learned much new about her, which is kind of alarming considering that my previous sources were very much pop-culture.
The strongest parts of the book were easily the ones focusing on her younger sister Katherine Grey. Maybe it's partially because I didn't know much of her story, but she was also the character with the most life to her. Honestly, reading about the early stages of her romance with her future husband was a delight and the fact that their letters were apparently too spicy for Victorians was a nice bonus. The ending of her story made me cry so hard, you have no idea...
With Mary Grey, I could once again use some more insight, because she was potentially such an interesting figure.
Some random thoughts and observations:
This is my personal taste thing, but I do prefer when historical biographies try to be more personal even if it involves some speculation on the writer's part. Earlier this year, I read [b:Romantic Outlaws|25324105|Romantic Outlaws The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley|Charlotte Gordon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1450795048l/25324105._SY75_.jpg|41681472], also a historical biography, but [a:Charlotte Gordon|535959|Charlotte Gordon|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1426802622p2/535959.jpg] made me feel like I personally met every - even minor - person involved and almost gave me peek into their souls. I didn't always agree with her readings, but everybody felt as a person. Leanda de Lisle on the other hand focuses way more on the political machinations and situation than the people involved. This for me applied especially to the parts about Jane Grey where I didn't really feel like I learned much new about her, which is kind of alarming considering that my previous sources were very much pop-culture.
The strongest parts of the book were easily the ones focusing on her younger sister Katherine Grey. Maybe it's partially because I didn't know much of her story, but she was also the character with the most life to her. Honestly, reading about the early stages of her romance with her future husband was a delight and the fact that their letters were apparently too spicy for Victorians was a nice bonus. The ending of her story made me cry so hard, you have no idea...
With Mary Grey, I could once again use some more insight, because she was potentially such an interesting figure.
Some random thoughts and observations: