I am admittedly a big fan of Alison Weir's work, especially less 'popular' historical figures so I was intrigued to learn that each of the Tudor wives would get their own story. It's easy and fashionable to get wrapped up in Anne Boleyn, but there were so many other interesting faces and intrigues during this turbulent time. As expected, this fictionalized account of Queen Jane is meticulously researched, but still manages to hold our attention as readers. At first I was lukewarm on the supernatural aspects, but as I engaged fully with the story I came to understand why the author made such a choice. Besides suiting the superstitious time period, Jane is wracked with guilt over the death of Boleyn and the idea that she may be haunted by this shade makes sense within the confines of the story. The mysterious death of Jane is also well handled, with new possibilities coming to light about her demise. I am incredibly interested in the next installment, if it's possible to unearth new perspective on Anne of Cleves, I trust this is the author to do it.

As ever, Alison Weir paints a vibrant picture of Tudor life, transporting the reader to another time and place. I think Jane Seymour is my favourite wife of Henry VIII, perhaps because she is more relatable to the reader than his other wives. Alison Weir portrays her as devout and sympathetic to the Catholic cause. We see her empathy for Katherine of Aragon, the true queen, and her dislike of Anne Boleyn. Of course, it can be difficult to distinguish what is true and what is fabricated in this kind of book but the notes at the back are very revealing and it's interesting to see how the author interprets what information is available whilst filling in the dots. I found this book very readable and not at all like a biography with some of the turns of phrase seeming remarkable modern. I think it's fair to say that Jan Seymour was haunted literally and figuratively by the spectre of her predecessor. Even at the end, Alison Weir turns the established viewpoint on its head regarding the manner of Jane's death. This is looking to be a promising series.

I love how Alison Weir explores the history through important women. She is very talented at creating the atmosphere of the period and this was an enjoyable read for me. The historic detail and precision is great and story telling is gripping the reader although you know what happens in the end!

Overall I enjoyed it a great deal. It's an easy and immersive novel, with wonderful historical details that make it so easy to believe. Anne Boleyn is true to Weir's previous novels generally unsympathetic view. Jane Seymour is easy to love and makes a compelling protagonist.

On a historical note, I am dismayed at the continuous injustice done to poor Jane Rochford. Julia Fox, in her biography 'Jane Boleyn' has already disproved most of the accusations laid against her here. It might make for a juicy story, but it would be so much more interesting to see something other than the tired trope of 'shrewish, jealous Jane'.

I'd definitely recommend it as a sequel; it balances out the previous two novels in the series beautifully and I can't wait to see how Weir continues the story with Anne of Cleves.

Isn’t it wonderful when an author has the ability to transport the reader to another place and time in history - to make one feel, hear and see what it felt like to be an integral part of King Henry VIII’s court. I knew little about Jane Seymour, so it was a joy to see her come to life. History paints her as a mainly meek, mouse like woman, but others saw her in a different light. Alison Weir portrays her as a modest, kind hearted woman, but also an educated, principled woman, and one not afraid to stand up for those principles, and who by an unforeseen set of circumstances becomes Henry VIII's third wife.

Jane's wedding to the King took place just eleven days after Anne Boleyn's death. Anne Boleyn was tried and convicted of adultery, incest, and treason, and was incarcerated in the Tower of London, prior to her beheading (though not everyone believed those charges) Anne was never able to give Henry a son, which distressed him greatly, so Jane knows that she must produce a son and heir for King Henry if she's to have any chance of making her husband happy. Anne's death preys greatly on Jane's mind though, and when she begins to see a shadowy ghostly figure in the dead of night, she imagines it must be Anne, especially when these sightings are followed by some great tragedy.

Having been a part of Henry's court for many years, Jane's only too aware of just what a hazardous place this is. A place of dangerous intrigue, infidelity, and treachery. This was also a time of great change in history, with Henry's insistence to an annulment from his first wife Catherine of Aragon, leading to a falling out with the Pope, thereby leading to massive changes to the English Constitution.

The author ( with great knowledge and a splash of imagination ) has managed to flesh out Jane Seymour, and presented her in such an engaging manner, that you really feel you get to know her. She also brings the early 16th century to life in terms of the customs, traditions, illnesses and the food and drink consumed, and also gives us an insight into the terror that the plagues brought about, and how they returned time and time again to claim many lives in those troubled times.

This was an excellent, well written and fascinating look at the Henry VIII's court, and in particular how Jane Seymour became, not only a part of that court, but ascended to the highest position as Henry VIII's third wife. Highly recommended.

* Thank you to Netgalley and Headline for my ARC in exchange for an honest review*

The Tudor period is one of my favorites in English history so I was delighted to be given the chance to read this advanced copy. Alison Weir has created a vibrant and engaging portrayal of Jane Seymour through her early years at home in Wulfhall; her years of service to both Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn and, finally, her short reign as queen of England.

Jane Seymour is one of King Henry’s wives that I knew little of, so
it was really interesting to see her as a fully-fledged character. Understandably, a lot of the narrative is based on pure speculation, however it is clear that Weir favors the view that Jane was a respectable, steady presence in Henry’s life, rather than the other popular view of her being manipulative and devious in her attempts to overthrow Queen Anne.

I learned so many new things with this book and it was lovely to read about places visited on the royal progresses that are situated near me. Because I enjoyed this one so much, I’ve now purchased the first in the series.

Thank you to Netgalley and Headline for this advanced copy.

A fascinating book about Jane Seymour, the third wife of Henry VIII.

A large book 544 paged that captivated me from the start. I knew less about Jane Seymour, not sure why. However the research for this book is amazing, I learned much more. I refuse to believe that this Queen was as my interesting as I believed before. Good to know she was in anguish over the beheading of Anne Boleyn, her position was not an easy one for sure, how could she not have feared for her own life?

. There is less information available, Janes life was quite short but Alison Weir has brought her to life. As she does with description of lush garments and jewellery. She will probably always be known as the saddest of his wives but our history would be so different if she and her son had lived. It’s difficult to imagine Henry V111 being content but who knows, maybe he would have been.

Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen, (Six Tudor Queens 3),  Alison Weir

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: Historical Fiction

About fifteen years ago I was into reading a lot of historical fiction, and devoured books by Phillipa Gregory, Elizabeth Chadwick, Ariana Franklin and others, and found several of Alison's books that appealed to me.
I hated history at school, and yet through reading historical fiction I've learned the appeal of past times. What I really love is the personal touch, not the dry reams of dates and facts History lessons at school consisted of. Fiction lets authors play with those facts, put a personal spin on them and brings the characters to life, and Alison does that perfectly.

I've read many books about Katherine, Henry's first wife, and of course Anne Boleyn. She's someone that existed for a short few years yet changed the course of history, changed England's future and religion. I knew, as all schoolkids were taught, that Henry had six wives, and I have read a couple of books about Kitty Howard and Ann Parr, but the middle two, especially Jane, seem to get forgotten when it comes to fiction.


I've always thought of Henry as a spoiled child who became a spoiled adult, demanding everything goes his way...or else. In reality it was difficult for Royals of the day, they never knew who was planning to take their place, treason might have carried an awful death but it didn't stop plotting. Then of course he was never really given his advisers true thoughts, afraid of his reactions they told him what they thought he wanted to hear, so when for example he wanted to divorce Katherine, or get rid of Anne they needed to make it happen, or they paid the price.
He did a difficult job, and he was very clear how he felt about his position as King, that he had a responsibility to the country. He may have played with that a bit in his reasoning at times, when he wanted, for example, to marry Anne, but on the whole he comes over as someone who held his position as one of duty as much as privilege.
When it cam to Jane I found myself almost sympathetic to Henry at times here, he really did seem to have feelings for her, which marries with the little I've read about her in other books, when she has come in as a secondary character. The end section was very emotional.

This is a lovely, long book, and it started with Jane's early years where we learned much about her family. All that lays the foundation for the person she became as she matured, and was interesting reading.
I felt the way Jane was very moral about Katherine and Henry's position with Anne, was good and true to her beliefs. After much praying and thought, she decided she wasn't doing the same as she felt Katherine was the True Queen. In her reasoning she thought therefore as Henry wasn't married to Anne, and Katherine had now died he was free to make advances to her. I needed to feel that she had given much thought to her position, as in the early part of the book she was so devout in her religious beliefs.

Families were in a constant struggle for power, and we see how Jane's ambitious brothers encouraged her, despite knowing how she felt, they wanted the rewards that came with being a favoured family of the king. To have their sister be the King's mistress was a heady thought, but when she refused and it became likely she would be Queen their pleasure was unconstrained. That goes through all the historical fiction I've read, families always seem to be in the struggle for pole position, ready to use their females however it benefits the family, disregarding how they themselves may feel. The Seymours were a typical family in their actions, all of the “important” families would have done the same thing. The Boleyns pushed Mary forward, then her sister Anne, and later the Howards pushed Kitty, despite her young age, all for Family glory and favours.

I enjoyed the author's notes, where Alison explains how she has used certain known facts, or drawn conclusions from available data and modern advice, to fit this book, but made clear that it may not be what actually happened. I want to read fiction, but feel its grounded in reality, and I am happy at the way this was done. I haven't read the earlier books, will look out for them.
 
Stars: Five, a lovely long read ( almost 7000 kindle locations) that engrossed me, made me feel part of the story, took me back in time mentally for a few hours. Did what I though was impossible and made me feel sympathetic at times for Henry!

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers