The first ever biography of Jane Seymour, Henry VIII's third wife, who died in childbirth giving the king what he craved most - a son and heir. Jane Seymour is often portrayed as meek and mild and as the most successful, but one of the least significant, of Henry VIII's wives. The real Jane was a very different character, demure and submissive yet with a ruthless streak - as Anne Boleyn was being tried for treason, Jane was choosing her wedding dress. From the lowliest origins of any of Henry's wives her rise shows an ambition every bit as great as Anne's. Elizabeth Norton tells the thrilling life of a country girl from rural Wiltshire who rose to the throne of England and became the ideal Tudor woman.
Jane Seymour: Henry VIII's True Love
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About the Author
Elizabeth Norton gained her first degree from the University of Cambridge, and her Masters from the University of Oxford. Her other books include Anne Boleyn: Henry VIII's Obsession, Catherine Parr, Anne of Cleves: Henry VIII's Discarded Bride (all published by Amberley Publishing) and She Wolves: The Notorious Queens of England. She is currently writing England's Queens: The Biography, also for Amberley. She lives in Kingston Upon Thames.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I loved this book. Jane Seymour has always been my favourite of Henry VIII's wives and it has always been hard to find information on her. I liked the first half as I found the information about Jane's family interesting. I also thought it was well written and Norton's writing style always keeps me wanting to read more. I particularly like her use of quotes and she gives you a feel for the real Jane, especially in her discussion of her role in Anne Boleyn's death. The best part of the book was definitely the section on Jane as queen. I really enjoyed reading about Jane's religious beliefs and her opinion on the Pilgrimage of Grace. I also thought that Norton provided the best summary on the Pilgrimage of Grace that I have read so far. My favourite chapter was on Princess Mary, who I have also always been interested in. I was intrigued by Jane's role in bringing Mary back to court.
I have read about Jane in other books on the six wives in general but it always feels as though she is a bit of an afterthought, once the writer has gone through the more exciting stories of Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. It was refreshing to read a book focussed solely on Jane and I though it added a new viewpoint to read about Anne Boleyn's fall from Jane's point of view for the first time. The book is not very long, which is a shame, but it is full of really interesting information about Jane Seymour and I would highly recommend it.
I have read about Jane in other books on the six wives in general but it always feels as though she is a bit of an afterthought, once the writer has gone through the more exciting stories of Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. It was refreshing to read a book focussed solely on Jane and I though it added a new viewpoint to read about Anne Boleyn's fall from Jane's point of view for the first time. The book is not very long, which is a shame, but it is full of really interesting information about Jane Seymour and I would highly recommend it.
29 of 37 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I was so excited about ordering "Jane Seymour: Henry VIII's True Love" by Elizabeth Norton because it really is the only Jane Seymour biography available - all the other Jane Seymour books seem to be fictional accounts of her life. However, I wasn't impressed by the first few chapters because I thought they were very flimsy and talked about what Jane MAY have done and where she MAY have been. I understand that Jane Seymour is a hard character to research because there actually isn't much information about her before she became Henry's third wife but still, she could have been anywhere really!!
But, the good news is that the book gets better and is actually a great read and goes some way to dispelling those myths about how Jane was meek, mild and demure. Norton points out that "the real Jane was a shrewd politician and a strong character. Jane could not have won the king without a ruthless streak and her ambition was as great as Anne Boleyn's". What we need to remember is that Jane saw, by being a maid to both Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, how these women treated the king and how he treated them. She learned that she had to be the good, mild-mannered traditional woman to tempt the king after he had lost interest in the feisty argumentative Anne but she also learned from Anne that she needed to keep hold of her "virtue" if she was to hold the king's interest.
This book, in the end, really does give you a deeper understanding of this woman who history really has ignored and yet who was the "usurper", stealing the King from Anne Boleyn. The information on the Pilgrimage of Grace, Jane's religious beliefs and her horror of how Henry treated the uprising, her pregnancy, death and legacy, is all first class. A great read for Tudor history lovers.
But, the good news is that the book gets better and is actually a great read and goes some way to dispelling those myths about how Jane was meek, mild and demure. Norton points out that "the real Jane was a shrewd politician and a strong character. Jane could not have won the king without a ruthless streak and her ambition was as great as Anne Boleyn's". What we need to remember is that Jane saw, by being a maid to both Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, how these women treated the king and how he treated them. She learned that she had to be the good, mild-mannered traditional woman to tempt the king after he had lost interest in the feisty argumentative Anne but she also learned from Anne that she needed to keep hold of her "virtue" if she was to hold the king's interest.
This book, in the end, really does give you a deeper understanding of this woman who history really has ignored and yet who was the "usurper", stealing the King from Anne Boleyn. The information on the Pilgrimage of Grace, Jane's religious beliefs and her horror of how Henry treated the uprising, her pregnancy, death and legacy, is all first class. A great read for Tudor history lovers.
By Leigh
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I thoroughly loved this biography of Queen Jane Seymour, as there aren't many around! It is lovely because it focuses completely on Jane's story, giving you all the facts and details which you need. Okay, so that author didn't have a lot of material to work with for the early years of Jane Seymour, but Elizabeth Norton still made it extremely interesting, allowing the reader to come up with their own conclusions.
There is no doubt that Jane is a very fascinating lady, helped by the fact that we don't know a lot about her (unfortunately). But when the book did turn to the well documented area of Jane's life, (marriage, reign, pregnancy etc), the author still made it extremely lively, informative and simple.
This book definately helps all those history/Tudor fans out there understand a little bit more about Henry's third queen and so I highly recommend it!
There is no doubt that Jane is a very fascinating lady, helped by the fact that we don't know a lot about her (unfortunately). But when the book did turn to the well documented area of Jane's life, (marriage, reign, pregnancy etc), the author still made it extremely lively, informative and simple.
This book definately helps all those history/Tudor fans out there understand a little bit more about Henry's third queen and so I highly recommend it!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Well written and thorough with some reservations
I wrote a review of Elizabeth Norton's book on Catherine Parr. I made some specific criticism but otherwise I argued that it was well written and reasonably thorough. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Graham James
4.0 out of 5 stars
Short and repetitive but not many biographies on Jane out there
This book was short but as other reviewers have said there isn't much to go on so the author had to do a lot of guessing and this added to a lot of repetition within paragraphs. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Cavan Lass
1.0 out of 5 stars
Poorly written and rushed
I was looking forward to reading the first biography on Jane Seymour. There isn't much information on her, but as Norton has been publishing a book every couple of months, I wonder... Read more
Published on 29 July 2010 by Monica
2.0 out of 5 stars
A little pointless!
The reason why Jane Seymour biographies are rare is that there is not much to go on. Elizabeth Norton fails primarily because there is too much supposition and guesswork and... Read more
Published on 17 May 2010 by K. J. Greenland
2.0 out of 5 stars
Flimsy
I love the tudor period in particular, and historical texts in general - this was just too vague, as per one of the other reviews - "Jane must have felt worried", or "Jane may have... Read more
Published on 2 April 2010 by Walshylass
2.0 out of 5 stars
Unfortunately an unnecessary Biography
I bought this book after reading through all the previous reviews thinking I would give it a chance. Unfortunately, it was not worth it. Read more
Published on 8 Mar 2010 by B. Wagner
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting insight
Good to read this biography of a very important but much overlooked character. (Editor: It needs better editing! Chunks of text repeated - try and sort it by the next print run)
Published on 17 Sep 2009 by Jacqueline Dyer
4.0 out of 5 stars
1536 - when England had three Queen Consorts
Our most dear and most entirely beloved wife, the Queen" - described Henry VIII his third consort,Jane Seymour, in a letter to the Duke of Norfolk in the summer 1537. Read more
Published on 28 Jun 2009 by Amelrode
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