Innocent Traitor

A Novel of Lady Jane Grey

By: Alison Weir

Narrated by: Stina Nielsen, Davina Porter, Bianca Amato

Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best-selling author Alison Weir has earned her reputation as the preeminent historian of British royalty. Now with Innocent Traitor, Weir utilizes her vast knowledge and captivating narrative style to craft her first historical novel, choosing Lady Jane Grey, the most sympathetic heroine of Tudor England, as her enthralling subject.

The child of a scheming father and ruthless mother, Jane is born during a time when ambition dictates action. Cousin to Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I, she is merely a pawn in a political and religious game in which one false step means a certain demise. But Lady Jane has remarkable qualities that help her to withstand the constant pressures of the royal machinery far better than most expect.

Weir's striking novel sweeps readers back through the centuries to witness firsthand one of the most poignant tales from a time of constant scheming and power brokering.

©2007 Alison Weir (P)2007 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"Weir proves herself deft as ever." (Publishers Weekly)
"Complex yet completely absorbing....A brilliantly vivid and psychologically astute novel." (Booklist)

A Sad, Sad Story . . .

This book tells the sad -- tragic, even -- story of Lady Jane Grey, who was Queen of England for about a millisecond (nine days, actually). Weir does a wonderful job of giving us a fascinating look into the life of this intelligent and educated girl who wound up being a pawn of power-hungry, scheming people, in so many ways. In one sense, the story is almost unbelievable, but it really took place.

I enjoyed the performance greatly -- the only drawback is that with different voices, I sometimes felt momentarily confused about whom I was listening to. The transitions are marked by what could be openings of letters, as in an epistolary novel: "Lady Jane Grey, Windsor Castle, June 1542," but because I listen while driving, from time to time I missed one of those announcements and had to spend a while figuring out who the speaker was (if only the iPod allowed you to back up a little bit!!). But that's a relatively small matter, and after a while I could figure out who it was by listening to the speaker's voice -- they were generally pretty distinctive.

I highly recommend this book to lovers of historical novels, but even if you are not one of that ilk, give it a listen anyway. It's a historical story that's so suspenseful and tense, you'll enjoy it no matter what kind of book you like.

Gripping

The only "problem" I had with this audiobook was an unwillingness to turn it off. Allison Weir does an excellent job of bringing the characters to life and leaves you wanting the story to go one for the next hundred years or so...

A Captivating Story

This tragic story of Lady Jane Grey kept me captivated from the very beginning. I have read numerous books on Tudor England and this one filled in some holes for me that I had missed before. The narration brought much to the table here. Excellent!

Lady Jane

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A great history lesson in a well written and read book.

GREAT STORY HOWEVER.....

First let me say there is much I like about this title. The story itself is wonderfully crafted and written. It is quite charming. I do appreciate there being several narrators, some of whom I have heard before and never had complaint. With that being said, I do have to say how this title is perfect example of how a bad recording and editing can ruin a great book. The narration itself is not bad, it is all of the mouth noises and heavy breathing that is within it that is very distracting. By mouth noises I mean sounds like they have dry mouth (Cotton mouth), sticky mouth, or playing with their dentures. Also the heavy breathing cannot go unnoticed. These mouth noises and heavy breathing are prominent with ALL OF THE FEMALE NARRATORS, especially those who voice Jane Grey, Catherine Parr, King Henry VIII, Lady Mary Tudor... I did not notice annoying mouth noises or heavy breathing from the male narrator at all, so I don't know if the women think they are adding something by their mouth noises and heavy breathing, but I can assure they are not. As well, the editing is bad. One chapter/narrator will just finish a sentence and within a nanosecond, it jumps to the next with no pause in between. Sometimes it feels like a chapter got "cut off". There should be a slightly longer pause between these chapters and narrator changes. I would not say to not get this title, but if you do be prepared for annoying noises and bad editing.

Masterful!

The author does a great job of retelling an amazing period of British history. I was hooked from the beginning and found it hard to put down. It's compelling and very well read with several narrators adding to the interest and intrigue. I highly recommend this!

Good Read!

I love the Tudor time period. This extended my knowledge of what happened after Henry VIII.
Well written, could have used some editing but all in all was a book you wanted to read and know the outcome.

Great performance, weak writing

I give kudos to the historically accuracy, but if you are going to draumatize an historical event(s) don't shy away from a actual drauma.

Very little back story was added and most seemed to be fleshed out of commonly believed rumors and suppositions. Great, but why so flat?

All and all just another telling of the martyr Jane's sad rise and fall. If you have never read a history book on her, this is pretty close and a little less dry.

Wonderful reading of a great book!

I read this book several years ago and decided I would probably enjoy hearing it read. I downloaded this book about three months ago and absolutely loved the reading of it. Alison Weir is a great writer and makes her stories spring to life. The readers did her justice, and I enjoyed their interpretations of the characters, especially Jane. I am listening to it for a second time now, that is how enjoyable it was. Highly recommended!

Loved this Book!

The narrators did an amazing job of taking on each character in this historical novel based on true events. I couldn't stop listening to it! Even though I already knew the historical account and how it would end for Lady Jane, the book held my interest right up to the end.