the sisters who would be queen by leanda de lisle

Katherine Grey, who sought to live a stable life, earned the trust of Mary I, only to risk her future with a love marriage that threatened Queen Elizabeth's throne.

Navigating the politics of the Tudor court after Jane' s death was a precarious challenge. Dubbed 'the Nine Days Queen' after her short, tragic reign from the Tower of London, Jane has over the centuries earned a special place in the affections of the English people as a 'queen with a public heart.' But as de Lisle reveals, Jane was actually more rebel than victim, more leader than pawn, and Mary and Katherine Grey found that they would have to tread carefully in order to avoid sharing their elder sister's violent fate. Lady Jane, the eldest, was thrust center stage by greedy men and uncompromising religious politics when she briefly succeeded Henry's son, the young Edward I. The Sisters Who Would Be Queen breathes fresh life into these three young women, who were victimized in the notoriously vicious Tudor power struggle and whose heirs would otherwise probably be ruling England today.īorn into aristocracy, the Grey sisters were the great-granddaughters of Henry VII, grandnieces to Henry VIII, legitimate successors to the English throne, and rivals to Henry VIII's daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. Mary, Katherine, and Jane Grey–sisters whose mere existence nearly toppled a kingdom and altered a nation's destiny–are the captivating subjects of Leanda de Lisle's new book.

'Leanda de Lisle brings the story of nine days' queen Lady Jane Grey and her forgotten sisters, the rivals of Elizabeth I, to vivid life in her fascinating biography.' -Philippa Gregory.

The sisters who would be queen by leanda de lisle