Another amazing book on the Tudors era. This time about the less known third wife of Henry VIII. The author extensively shows the historical background and how Jane became the excellent wife for the temperamental monarch. Highly recommended book for all lovers of history especially of the Tudor's time.

I was keen to read this book since Jane Seymour is one of the least known of Henry VIII's wives.
The beginning of the book gives the background history of the Seymour family and the origins of their name. A family tree would have been helpful here.
The book goes on to describe the Tudor court and the issues of the day including the King's Great Matter. While this is useful in setting the context, it is familiar to anyone with a knowledge of Tudor history.
The notes of sources arranged by chapter and the bibliography are useful for readers who wish to study the issues further.
The book is well-written and easy to read. However, there is little new content here, most likely due to the scarcity of documentary evidence.
Thank you to NetGalley and Pen and Sword Books for an e-ARC. All opinions are my own.

While I understand the need to set the scene before the character whose name is given to the book "arrives" it was quite some way in before this happened and I felt that this was somewhat more of an abridged story of the Tudors than that of the third queen of Henry VIII. The repetitive use of unanswered questions felt to me more like writing a degree dissertation than a book. Not a bad book just not to my personal style.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for and unbiased personal review.

A great biography/history dedicated just to Henry VIII's third wife, Jane Seymour. Jane often gets overlooked due to her short and relatively unremarkable tenure as queen, with historians and biographers tending to focus more on his other wives. Jane is often remembered as the one who died (in the rhyme) and the mother of the long desired son, Edward (later Edward VI).

I enjoyed learning more about Jane's life before she caught Henry's eye and the pictures and engravings shared helped to illustrate aspects of her life.

For anyone would would like to learn more about Jane Seymour, this is a great biography/history to start with.

This is a fantastically well-illustrated biography of Jane Seymour, third wife (by our count anyway) of Henry VIII of England and the mother of his long-awaited male heir, the future Edward VI. The images alone make it worth a read even for people already familiar with her story. All speculation is clearly marked as such and there is ample discussion of the interpretation challenges associated with certain primary sources from the period, which makes it particularly useful as a biography.

The book expands on the usual temporal scope of Jane's life by first attempting to track her (male lineage) ancestors from their arrival in England with William the Conquerer through to her immediate parents/grandparents. This is one section of the book that could really have used some family trees, as once we got to the immediate family it was easy to lose track of aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, and other close kin. However, it was a great way to get around our lack of information on Jane's early life by putting her into her family context.

It is impossible to tell Jane's story without making the context around Henry's first two wives clear, especially given Jane's friendship with the future Mary I and her position at court during Anne Boleyn's downfall. This biography includes just enough to make things clear without completely overwhelming her story, though the follow-on sections describing the history of Henry VIII's later wives seemed a bit out of place for a story focusing on Jane rather than Henry. I would have preferred that additional word count be focused on, e.g. Jane's building projects that are mentioned but not described in much detail. Much of the work of queenship happens in the spheres of patronage and material culture and it would have been great to get a bit more of that just because it would have helped show her as an active participant in her own life rather than a passive victim of Henry's quest for an heir (one of the author's many goals).

Overall, this is a great biography and definitely one I will recommend to my students.

The story of Jane Seymour, Henry ViIII, third wife and the mother of his only surviving son. However, like many Pen and Sword nonfiction biographies on British Royals, this one is not an original work of scholarship. The author actively references another biography of Jane Seymour written by David Loades, and available to the public.

Over the years much has been written about Henry VIII's first two wives. However, Jane Seymour his third wife and the one wife to give him a son is a bit of an enigma.
Carol-Ann Johnston has certainly done her research into the life of this woman. Finishing the book I felt i knew more about the woman.
Jane Seymour married the King whilst Ann Boleyn's body was still warm. She gave birth to his longed for son but only knew her child for 12 days before succumbing to her death as a result of complications. By birthing a son she had secured her position as Queen and her life would have been mapped out. Her death also meant she was never crowned. Henry had obviously wanted to make sure she could do her duty first.
How different the monarchy could have been if she had survived and produced a nursey full of lusty boys.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to see an arc.

I received an ARC of “Jane Seymour: An Illustrated Life ” from Pen & Sword Books in exchange for an honest review.

Arranged into 10 chapters and including endnotes, a bibliography, and an index, author Carol-Ann Johnston provided both the genealogical and historical origins of Jane Seymour, Henry VIII’s third wife. I especially appreciated that Johnston was able to reach back into the pre-1066 era to reveal the Seymour family origins in France.

The one thing that I can say about this book is that the author did a fabulous job writing it. I have read a lot of non-fiction books. While many of them are well written, Johnston’s book was a step above: it was a pleasurable read. I read every single word and the book was so enjoyable that it was like reading a fact-filled novel. Johnston is a good, solid writer and through her, I learned a lot about Jane Seymour’s short but eventful life.

I really appreciate that Pen & Sword books chose to scatter the various images throughout the book. With the addition of generous white space, the images gave me a good reason to pause, allowing the information that I’d previously read to sink in.

The only changes that I would have liked to see are in regards to the endnotes and the bibliography. The author included endnotes, but in my opinion, she really needed to add more. As far as the bibliography is concerned, the entries were far too few. But, then again, Jane Seymour died relatively young and surviving records are sparse.

Overall, this is an excellent book. The author’s wonderful writing style made reading this book so easy and enjoyable that I can’t imagine anyone **not** enjoying it. I recommend this book, without reserve, to all libraries and would love to see this book in every university library in the United States and beyond, including public libraries.

This book is interesting. We learn about the history of the Seymours to depictions of Jane after hear death. It’s relatively easy to read & an enjoyable book, however it wasn’t quite what I thought it was. I thought that this book would be just about Jane but it isn’t. There’s a lot around Henry & his other wives too. For approximately the first 25% Jane gets a few mentions, instead the focus is on Henry & his first two wives. Later in the book the focus is also on people other than Jane.

I did enjoy the book & the author’s interest shines through. There’s also some new thoughts surrounding Jane’s death which is interesting. However for me there’s too much focus on other people for me to mark his higher than a three star as it’s not really what I thought.

198 pages

4 stars

Jane Seymour was Henry VIII’s third wife.

Not a great deal has been written about Jane. She is mentioned in several histories of the Tudor era, but there is little to be found about her as a person. She was mild mannered, kind, generous and knew when to keep from interfering in King Henry’s business. She tried once, but was quickly reminded to keep silent.

She was only queen for seventeen months or so. She did, however, give Henry his long desired son. He was to become King Edward VI. She passed away several days after Edward’s birth, so it is not clear what exactly caused her death. While it is widely accepted that she died of “childbed fever,” that condition usually arises much more quickly than several days.

I really appreciated that Ms. Johnston included the Pilgrimage of Grace in her book. I have always been interested in this movement, and liked very much that it was discussed.

I have read a great deal of history about the Tudors as they are my favorite English dynasty, So, I must take exception with a couple of facts cited by the author. Such as the destruction of the monasteries. My reading tells me that it began well before 1536. I am willing, however, to reconsider.

The book is written in an easy, conversational style, not at all dry. It is accessible to all readers, I recommend it for all lovers of Tudor history, the late middle ages, or just history fans in general. Notes and a bibliography is included for those who would like to further explore the subject.

I want to thank NetGalley and Pen & Sword for forwarding to me a copy of this very good book for me to read, enjoy and review.. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

Jane Seymour by Carol- Ann Johnston

A well researched and fascinating read about Henry Viii 3rd wife and the only one to provide him with a living son in his marriages.
I have read many books on the tudor dynasty but it was a great to read one on what is said to have been his one true love ( although tragic for Jane )

Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley

I think it would be safe to say that Jane Seymour, despite her name being used by a famous actress, is the least well known of Henry’s wives. She was married for about a year and then, tragically if not conveniently, died after giving birth to a son. Her life wasn’t as exciting as some of the other wives, she didn’t win as you could argue Anne of Cleves did. She is seen as a stereotypical good wife, meek and mild, by most people, or a blank canvas. Undoubtedly, Henry VIII”s view of her – the wife who give him a son - and the fact that she followed Anne Boleyn influence
Johnson’s book tries to correct that, but it doesn’t quite succeed. This isn’t Johnson’s fault. There is a lack of material, of first-hand material, on Jane. We don’t really have Jane’s words in the same way that we have Katherine’s and Anne’s. So it isn’t that surprising that roughly the first 30-40% of the book (as read on my kindle) barely features Jane but everyone else.
But while understandable, at times it doesn’t quite make sense – why quote all of Katherine of Aragorn’s speech about her marriage, for instance? It’s true, as Johnson points out, that Seymour served Katherine, but even then, the point of including the whole speech verbatim is missing There are several cases like that where Jane disappears from her own book and the other wives take the stage (and hold it better to be honest). It’s true that one must give a background in history, but it is strange that more time is given to the wives than Seymour’s brothers.
Yet, it isn’t a bad book. If you are just getting started on your journey with the Tudors, it is a good place to start. The writing is engaging, and Johnson does speculate about what Seymour’s reactions to various things might have been. She does this well. Her setting the stage is excellent.
If you have been reading about the Tudor’s for a while, there are still bits of this book that make it worth reading. One, it is always nice to see a book about Jane Seymour. Two, Johnson really (I mean really) breaks down the events around Jane Seymour’s death, advocating for a slightly different date in a key area. She makes an excellent case. Additionally, it is always a pleasure to read something written by someone that clearly loves their subject, and Johnson does love her subject.

Thank you NetGalley, Carol-Ann Johnston, and Pen & Sword for allowing me to read an advanced copy of Jane Seymour: An Illustrated Life in exchange for an honest review.

Jane Seymour often gets overshadowed and labeled as the meek, plain third wife of Henry VIII. This book uses images throughout and attempts to expand on the limited information that is known about her. The author does a good job highlighting Jane's life. I feel like the book was dedicated to being solely about Jane, but there was also too much focus on other people during that time period.

This was a great book tirelessly researched and well put together Jane Seymour came from a long line of Lourdes Dukes sheriffs another titled gentry in Britain but her main claim to fame was being the third wife of Henry the eighth and the mother of his only legitimate son Arthur. Before reading this book I really had no great grasp on how Jane became his third wife I just knew Anberlin was sent to death and Wala Jane Seymour who is the new Mrs. Henry the eighth but I should have known when it comes to royalty they’ll be subterfuge deceit backstabbing and a helpless female being forced to do something she probably didn’t want to do in the first place. I mean after all she was friends with Ann Belin or at least one of her meds and waiting and thanks to all these men who thought they knew better she has the best day of her friend and eventually marry said friends husband. To say the very least Jane had the dignity of dying in her bed as opposed to the gibbet like his otherwise. There so much I didn’t know about Jane and the author tells her whole story including rumor and fact this is a book in the history fan would love to have in their library. its one I jumped at getting as soon as I saw it there was a little known about Jane Seymour and everything you can know I think Mrs. Johnston put in her book. It’s your thing in a royalty British history or just history in general you’ll love this book on Jane Seymour it’s all about her with little tidbits of other history that happened as we go along I absolutely enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. I received this book from NetGalley and Pen/Sword History but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

A very detailed description of Jane Seymours life, before and during her time at court. This book is perfect for everyone who wants to freshen up their history knowledge - I especially liked the trivia Chapter towards the end.

While, unfortunately, not much is known about Jane Seymour, Carol-Ann Johnston takes what is known about her life, family, and the happenings around her and gives these facts to us in an interesting, easy to read format. Much of Jane's existence is often speculated, twisted in unfair narratives (in my opinion), so it's nice to read about what kind of woman she really was.

I really enjoyed this book and I thought that it gave a good insight in to Jane Seymour and her life, which as most people who have an interest in The Tudors or the Royal Family through the ages will know, was tragically cut short when she passed away after giving birth to her son, Edward, the future Edward VI.

Jane herself was never destined to be a Queen so there is quite a bit of her early life that has not been documented. We don’t know when she was born, there is a rough and approximate date but that is all. The book covers from the time she started being courted by the King through to her death in more detail but even the time when she first entered Court is not particularly detailed – there is a lot we still need to learn about Jane.

I liked the insight in to her character, and it does make you wonder if she was really as meek and mild as she was portrayed to be, I think personally that she was a little in over her head and really did as she was told, with the few times that she did speak out, about the monasteries and dissolution, she was ignored, it would be interesting of this dynamic of the relationship between her and Henry VIII changed as she gave him the heir that he so wanted.

I liked that the book was illustrated and that was the focus, the images do help tell the story and I do love this type of book that gives the insight in to the past. There is still quite a bit about Jane that is not known, but I think that may be the case unless an amazing discovery is made in the future.

I thought that the book was well laid out and I liked the different focusses of the chapters.

It is 4 stars from me for this one, highly recommended!

The problem with Jane Seymour is so little is known about where she was or what she was doing almost right up until the moment she was engaged to Henry VIII. Johnston works around this by getting into what everyone else was doing until that point, outlining the Tudors, Henry VIII's martial career, and the history of Jane's family on both sides, showing how she came from a family both deeply entrenched in the countryside as well as having a few drops of royal blood.

When she does become queen, Johnston is careful to to declare what is unknown, especially in regards to how Jane felt about things, but asks plenty of good questions on what Jane may have been thinking, offering the few tantalizing glimpses we get of Jane's heart and head.