Gregory says this ‘may be’ the last novel she writes about the Tudor period. Fair enough. She has thoroughly plumbed the depths and written from the perspective of almost every prominent woman in the period, but she does it so well. The Last Tudor focusses on Jane Grey and her two sisters. Manipulated by her grasping parents, Jane was controversially crowned queen of England for nine days before Mary took the throne and had Jane and her father executed. Jane comes across as deeply religious and largely humourless, but still her death is affecting. Her two younger sisters, Katherine and Mary, have a lot more life in them and their tales are more interesting. Both sisters marry without Queen Elizabeth’s permission and suffer years of imprisonment in the homes of reluctant hosts because of it. What comes across most clearly is Elizabeth’s paranoia and her cruelty to the Grey sisters and any others who have a claim to her throne, however tenuous. The freedom and fortunes of the Grey sisters are entirely dependant on Elizabeth’s fickle temperament and their children and husbands suffer horribly. The persecution is all a bit sad and unfair but it makes for an interesting read. Gregory is so good at humanising her women, especially the diminutive Mary. The Last Tudor is good note for Gregory to leave on.
