A crown in darkness

*A Crown in Darkness* is the tragic story of Lady Jane Grey, brought to life with unusual sensitivity and compassion. Lady Jane took the English throne briefly in 1553, upon the death of Edward VI and before the reign of Mary Tudor (Queen Mary I, nicknamed "Bloody Mary"). She would be executed for high treason on February 12, 1554, at the age of seventeen. "That poor child is doomed," says the midwife at the birth of Lady Jane. Still, the future seemed bright for this lovely, vivacious child. But surrounding her was a group of scheming and ruthless people, especially John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland, who orchestrated the marriage of his son Guildford and Lady Jane and contrived to place her on the throne. Her brief but romantic life and its tragic end have not lost their power to move, and this particular novel is filled with the emotion and excitement evoked by the "Nine Days Queen" from the insights of the author, who was but a teenager herself when she began writing the story.