The Last Tudor (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #14)

The Last Tudor by Philippa Gregory
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The story of the Grey sisters. Jane who is ordered to marry Guildford Dudley and ordered to take the throne as the Protestant heir. When Jane refuses to make Guildford King her support disappears and she is left alone to face the wrath of Queen Mary. Imprisoned in The Tower until her Father raises in support of Elizabeth, Queen Mary orders her execution and Jane dies for the Protestant Faith.

Things should have improved fro the Greys after Elizabeth took the throne but they really didn't. While both Katherine and Mary were brought to court and served as Elizabeth's ladies Elizabeth's pettiness and jealousy blighted both their lives. When Katherine married Edward "Ned" Seymour Earl of Hertford for love, Elizabeth first tried to have the marriage declared invalid and Katherine's son declared a bastard, when that failed she had the family imprisoned in The Tower. A sympathetic jailer allowed Katherine and Ned to meet, but when Katherine became pregnant again and gave birth to another son the spiteful Elizabeth had the family separated. Katherine died without ever being allowed to see her husband or eldest son again.

Mary too married for love but she married a commoner. Even this wasn't good enough for the spiteful Queen. She had Mary's husband Thomas Keys imprisoned in the Fleet he died soon after being released without ever seeing his wife Mary.

At the end of the book Mary Grey Keys was still alive and Mary Queen of Scots the last of the cousins was Elizabeth's prisoner.

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